Dragon Ball Culture E-Book

Derek Padula

• Herausgeber: Padula Publishing LLC
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Serie: Dragon Ball Culture
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 558

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Dragon Ball Culture Volume 7 is your cultural tour guide to the Dragon Ball anime!

In Volume 7, Gokū travels the world in a series of anime adventures, and we will explore the culture of every episode and movie, and delve into the origin of their production.

This book features exclusive interviews with the Japanese musicians behind Dragon Ball's opening and ending themes, including lyricist Yuriko Mori, composer Takeshi Ike, and vocalist Ushio Hashimoto.

Do you prefer the anime over the manga, or would you like a guide for watching the series and how it compares to the original work by Akira Toriyama? Then this is the book for you!

Volume 7 concludes the world's first scholarly analysis of Dragon Ball's culture that took over 20 years to write. You're guaranteed to learn something new. Along the way you’ll be informed, entertained, and inspired. You will learn more about your favorite series, other people, and yourself.

- Explores Dragon Ball episodes 1 to 153, and the movies.

Genre: Non-fiction and literary criticism.
Topics: Akira Toriyama; Dragon Ball; The Journey to the West; Chinese culture; Japanese culture; Western culture; Chinese language; Japanese language; manga; anime; comic books; fandoms; history; philosophy; spirituality; religion; Buddhism, Daoism, Shinto; legends; folk tales; cinema; kung fu movies; Bruce Lee; Jackie Chan, the Monkey King; 20th Century history; World War II.
Images: Not present.

***

NOTE: This is an Early Access edition book. Here is the current content:

Opening and Ending Themes
OP: Makafushigi adobenchā!
ED: Romantikku ageru yo
OP and ED Culture
Filler
Anime
Saiyūki Arc (Pilaf Arc)
Shugyo Arc (Training Arc)
Appendix
-Eyecatch Culture
-Title Card Culture

Page Count: 235

New content will be added in the months ahead, and you will receive free updates when it is published.

The price will increase as new content is added, up to $9.99. So the earlier you buy, the more you save.

When the ebook is complete, the book will be published in paperback and hardback.

You can help shape the direction this book takes by providing feedback to me as you read it; including what you'd like to read about next.

Thank you for supporting my writing, and enjoy your anime adventures with Gokū!

Leseprobe

Praise

“Essential reading for Dragon Ball fans.”

– Geekdom101

“Dragon Ball Culture is a must read. It’s beyond interesting, it’s inspiring. You’ll never look at Dragon Ball the same way again!”

– dragonballinsider.com

“For Dragon Ball fans who think they know everything.”

– ToonBarn.com

“Dragon Ball Culture is an AMAZING resource. I guarantee you will learn a lot. You’ll not only get your deepest Dragon Ball questions answered, you’ll also get answers to questions you never thought to ask!”

– MistareFusion

“Within this treasure chest of a book is a rich esoteric history of everything that went into the show. It paints a picture of how amazing Dragon Ball truly is!”

– Amazon.com review

“As a fan you won’t be disappointed. It’s an amazing view on the famous story of Goku and the dragon balls. If you want to learn more about the story’s origin and about the author, Akira Toriyama, then you will be surprised how much you’ll find in this book.”

– Amazon.com review

“Derek Padula offers fans a serious and detailed work of research on the series and the culture that inspired it. A must read!”

– Google Play review

“Any self-respecting Dragon Ball fan must read Derek Padula’s books, they are awesome.”

– Google Play review

Other Books by Derek Padula

Available in English:

Dragon Ball Z “It’s Over 9,000!” When Worldviews Collide

Dragon Ball Culture Volume 1: Origin

Dragon Ball Culture Volume 2: Adventure

Dragon Ball Culture Volume 3: Battle

Dragon Ball Culture Volume 4: Westward

Dragon Ball Culture Volume 5: Demons

Dragon Ball Culture Volume 6: Gods

Dragon Ball Culture Volume 7: Anime

Dragon Ball Language (Coming Soon)

Dragon Soul: 30 Years of Dragon Ball Fandom

Available in Spanish:

Dragon Ball Z “It’s Over 9,000!” Cosmovisiones en colisión

Dragon Ball Cultura Volumen 1: Origen

Dragon Ball Cultura Volumen 2: Aventura

Dragon Ball Cultura Volumen 3: Batalla

Available in Italian:

Dragon Ball Z “It’s Over 9,000!” Visioni del mondo in collisione

Dragon Ball Culture Volume 1: Origini

Available in French:

Dragon Ball Z « It’s Over 9,000! » Des visions du monde en collision

More information: https://thedaoofdragonball.com/books/

Dragon Ball Culture

Volume 7

Anime

Derek Padula

thedaoofdragonball.com

Legal Disclaimer

Copyright © 2023, by Derek Padula

Written and published by Derek Padula in Grand Rapids, MI, the United States of America, all rights reserved.

Cataloging In-Publication Data

Padula, Derek. Dragon Ball Culture / Derek Padula Includes bibliographical references and index. ebook ISBN: 978-1-943149-08-7, paperback ISBN: 978-1-943149-24-7, hardback ISBN: 978-1-943149-37-7 1. Fantasy comic books, strips, etc. – Japan – 20th century – History and Criticism. 2. Martial arts – Comic books, strips, etc. 3. Spiritual life – Buddhism 4. Spiritual life – Daoism. 5. Good and evil. 6. Imaginary wars and battles. 7. Ethics, ancient. 8. Heroes.PN6790.J33 – P2 2014741.5952 – 23 LCCN: 2014922138

Notice of Rights

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Notice of Liability

The author has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information herein. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author nor its dealers or distributors will be held liable for any damages to be caused either directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.

Trademark Notice

Rather than indicate every occurrence of a trademarked name as such, this book uses the names only in an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner with no intention of infringement of the trademark.

License Information

Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Kai, Dragon Ball Online, and all other logos, character names, and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of TOEI ANIMATION, Akira Toriyama, BIRD STUDIO, SHUEISHA, FUNIMATION, VIZ MEDIA, BANDAI NAMCO, ATARI, and all other respective license holders unmentioned. This book was not prepared, licensed, or endorsed by any entity involved in creating or producing the Dragon Ball series. It is an independent, unofficial work that has no connection to the official license and is written within fair use guidelines.

Image Information

The illustrations in this book and on the cover that are rendered in the Dragon Ball style are original works, created through work for hire contracts with independent artists unaffiliated with the official Dragon Ball license. They are not licensed images, nor official artwork owned by the Dragon Ball license holders. All rights to the images are owned by Derek Padula, and may not be reproduced without his express written consent. The Dragon Ball license holders in the United States (FUNIMATION and VIZ MEDIA) recognize these as independent and wholly owned works, and do not claim ownership of them, nor claim that they infringe upon their official licenses, nor that they are equal to an official license.

Cover Art Illustration by Abraham Alía.

Index by Derek Padula.

Version 0.15

Web: https://thedaoofdragonball.com

Contents

Praise

Other Books by Derek Padula

Introduction

Parts

Sections

Beginning

Survey

Opening and Ending Themes

Synopsis

Origin

OP&ED

Production

Content

Single

Staff

Stories

OP: Makafushigi adobenchā!

Introduction

Etymology

Mori

Lyrics

Composition

Arrangement

Vocalist

Recording

Theme

Reaction

International

Covers

Takahashi

Inazuma

Symphonic

Re-Release

Heart

ED: Romantikku ageru yo

Introduction

Romantic?

Etymology

Lyrics

Composition

Genre

Arrangement

Vocalist

Recording

Theme

Reaction

International

Hashimoto

Covers

Tsuru

OP and ED Culture

Themes

OP Culture

ED Culture

Filler

Definition

Adapting

Types

Enjoyment

Perception

Watching

Canonicity

Errors

Value

Anime

Saiyūki-hen

001

002

003

004

005

006

007

008

009

010

011

012

013

End

Shugyō-hen

014

015

016

017

018

019

End

Conclusion

Appendix

Eyecatch Culture

Etymology

Design

History

Removed

Eyecatch’s

Conclusion

Title Card Culture

History

Design

Font

Guidelines

Names

Grammar

Cards

Conclusion

About

Next Steps

Introduction

Welcome to the early access edition of Dragon Ball Culture Volume 7: Anime. In this book we will explore the origin of the Dragon Ball anime, its cultural roots, and the ways it has been inspired by, and inspired, the world. We will go through each arc of the series, episode by episode, and the movies, as we learn about the culture infused into every scene.

I started writing the Dragon Ball Culture series in 2003, and with this volume it reaches its conclusion. Why have I dedicated so much effort and time of my life toward doing so. The philosophy of the Dragon Ball Culture series can be found in a statement by Furukawa Toshio, the Japanese voice actor for Pikkoro. He said in 2022, “Dragon Ball is a franchise that’s so popular around the world, to the point I’d even say it’s a bridge between cultures. It’s something that’s bigger than borders, nationality, religion, and so on. It’s something that everyone can understand and appreciate, and I think that’s amazing.”1 Through this series you can learn about Dragon Ball, yourself, and others.

Volumes 1 to 6 of Dragon Ball Culture walked you along the path of the Dragon Ballmanga, from author Akira Toriyama’s rise to fame and the conception of the series, to its exciting final battle. The manga is an incredible experience, but for millions of fans the anime was their gateway into Dragon Ball and remains their preferred way to experience it. In Volume 7, we’ll explore the origin of the Dragon Ball anime and the cultural content exclusive to this adaptation. We’ll proceed from Episode 1 to 153, and then analyze the 4 Dragon Ball movies. Along the way you will gain insights into Gokū, his friends, and the culture that inspired them and their world.

This book is intended to be read after you have read Volumes 1 to 6, but it isn’t required. In the same way that some people start with the Dragon Ball anime, you may be starting with Volume 7. But be aware that I won’t repeat what I’ve explained in the previous volumes, except for brief recaps when necessary. In any case, I recommend you watch the anime in-between your reading sessions of this book, or while doing so.

This early access edition contains a portion of the content available in the final edition. Similar to an online software program or video game, I will add content to this book in the months ahead, until the book is complete. As an early supporter of my writing, you will receive free updates.

When I release each new chapter, I will post an update on my site:

https://thedaoofdragonball.com/updates/

Follow my social media @derekpadula and website for announcements of the updates and to download the latest edition.

My goal is to release one chapter every month or so, but please bear in mind that the content is an artistic expression, and is not released on a fixed schedule. In addition, some arcs of the show are longer than others, and require more effort and time to analyze.

Parts

There are two parts to this book: the production and the content.

The production part explores the origin of the anime. Where does the anime come from? Who makes it? How is Akira Toriyama involved with its production? And why is it so successful in Japan and abroad? In this part we’ll cover topics such as the animation directors, screenplay writers, composers, lyricists, vocalists, voice actors, and animators who contributed to the Dragon Ball mythos.

The content part explores the anime itself. You’ll see the results of the production staff’s labors, and learn more about the cultural elements contained within each episode and movie.

Sections

This version of the early access edition contains the following sections:

Introduction (this chapter). As I add more content with each release, I will update the introduction.

Opening and Ending Themes. This section contains 4 chapters on the opening and ending themes of the Dragon Ball anime. It is the world’s first comprehensive history and origin story for these themes. It features exclusive interviews with the musicians behind their production. Please note that portions of these chapters are still in progress, pending further interviews with the musicians who made the song. I will update it as I conduct these interviews and release new chapters.

Filler. An explanation of the anime-exclusive content discussed in this book, and how it differs from Akira Toriyama’s manga.

SaiyūkiArc. The first story arc of the Dragon Ball anime. In 13 episodes, we’ll explore every aspect of the culture of Gokū’s initial adventure with Buruma and their friends.

Appendix. The Eyecatch Culture chapter explores the segues into and out of commercial breaks. The Title Card Culture chapter explores the culture and style of the titles for each episode.

There is no specific order to read this content. You can jump to whichever chapter you prefer.

Beginning

I would like to hear your opinions of the book, and to improve it based on your feedback. If you have constructive criticism, or heaps of praise, then please write to me on my site and social media and tell me how you feel.

Let’s begin our mystical adventure into the past and discover the Dragon Ball anime!

Survey

Would you like to win a free copy of Volume 7 in print? Then after you have finished reading the book, please take my brief survey and enter your email address at the end. When the print book is ready, you could win a paperback or hardback copy!

https://link.thedaoofdragonball.com/dbcv7readersurvey

I would love to hear your feedback, so that I can write the book you want to read.

And be sure to rate the book online if you enjoyed it. Thank you.

1 Furukawa Toshio on Dragon Ball as culture: https://thedaoofdragonball.com/blog/news/voice-actors-of-gohan-and-piccolo-offer-insights-into-characters-and-more/

Opening and Ending Themes

Dragon Ball has two of the most iconic and memorable opening and ending themes in anime history. Dragon Ball owes a portion of its success to its high-quality opening and ending themes, their display of culture, and the way this culture connects with fans in Japan and abroad. These themes are examples of musical culture that originate in Japan as a fusion of East and West, and then spread across the globe.

In this section we’ll explore the history of these two themes and their stories, speak with the musicians who created them, analyze their cultural content, and the way that fans feel about these themes today. We’ll begin with the basic terms used when describing these themes. Then we’ll meet the people behind their production. We’ll then embark on an adventure through time as we relive each theme’s production, premiere, and legacy.

Synopsis

Opening and ending themes are pieces of music composed for the purpose of being played at the start and end of an animated episode. They are written, composed, and vocalized with the intent of giving a venue for the animators to introduce the audience to the show, and then bid them farewell. They are the signature songs of a show, are chosen for cover songs by other artists, and are what sell albums. For many fans, the opening and ending themes are the most memorable tracks, and due to their high production value and accompanying animation, are remembered with great nostalgia.

The opening theme of Dragon Ball is titled Makafushigi adobenchā! (魔訶不思議アドベンチャー！, ‘mah-kah-foo-shee-gee ah-doh-ben-chah,’ “Mysterious Adventure!”).

The ending theme of Dragon Ball is titled Romantikku ageru yo (ロマンティックあげるよ, ‘roh-mahn-tee-koo ah-geh-roo yoh,’ “I Give You Romantic!”). It is often localized as “I’ll Give you Romance!”

Makafushigi adobenchā! and Romantikku ageru yo are the yīn and yáng of opening and ending themes. Each theme tells a self-contained story about Dragon Ball, its world, and its characters, but in particular, the main characters of Gokū and Buruma. The opening represents Eastern culture and has a strong, masculine, and energetic feeling. The ending represents Western culture and has a soft, feminine, and sentimental feeling. When viewed together, these themes represent the two sides of Dragon Ball’s emotional coin.

Origin

These themes were produced in Japan, but have been localized by singers and songwriters in different countries in ways that help connect them with a universal audience. Due to Dragon Ball’s popularity, its opening and ending themes are some of the most famous in the anime world.

The opening and ending themes of an anime are its calling card. They are the first and last thing an anime fan sees when experiencing the show. First impressions are important because viewers will judge a series based on the quality of its opening, and they’ll be left with a certain feeling by its ending. If both are done well, then viewers will have a positive feeling about the show, share the themes with others, sing them, or watch them repeatedly outside of the show itself.

Opening and ending themes are ubiquitous with the medium of anime. Themes to anime arose with the start of the animated medium in the 1960s and the advent of television, and they became standard by the ‘70s and ‘80s. A similar trend occurred in Western cartoons, dramas, and sitcoms, but anime themes were unique because they entered into a mutually beneficial relationship with the Japanese pop culture music industry. This industry had the purpose of grooming pop singers for the express intent of producing themes for anime. These songs would then be sold to fans in the form of a record, tape, or compact disc (CD). Commercialization of a show’s original music coincided with the other merchandise based on each intellectual property. Dragon Ball is a prime example of how successful these endeavors could be.

Over the passing decades into the 2000s and onward, as Western television shows reduced the length of their opening themes or eliminated them, anime themes have remained a quintessential part of the show. Likewise, the financial interdependence between the record companies and animation studios behind the themes has evolved with the times, and these themes are now available as digital downloads and via on-demand streaming services. Dragon Ball’s opening and ending themes have been available since the show’s premiere, and continue to be sold, remixed, and covered by other bands to this day.

OP&ED

In Japanese, the opening and ending themes are referred to with the foreign loanwords of ōpuningu tēma (オープニングテーマ, ‘oh-puu-nin-guu teh-mah,’ “opening theme”) and endingu tēma (エンディングテーマ, ‘ehn-din-guu teh-mah,’ “ending theme”). These are interchangeable with intoro (イントロ, ‘in-toh-roh,’ “intro”) and autoro (アウトロ, ‘owh-toh-roh,’ “outro”). More common are the shorthand terms of OP and ED, written in Roman letters. When discussed as a pair, they’re called “OP&ED.”

The song for each theme is called a songu (ソング, ‘sohn-guu,’ “song”). When a collection of such theme songs are referred to as an overall genre, they’re called anison (アニソン, ‘ah-nee-sawhn,’ “animation song”), which is a portmanteau of anime and songu.

The singers for OP and ED are referred to as anison kashu (アニソン歌手, ‘ah-nee-sawhn kah-shu,’ “anime song singer”).

These terms originate in foreign equivalents due to the influence of the international pop music industry on Japan after World War II, and the ensuing surge in technology and acceptance of foreign modernizations. The modern Japanese music industry, and the anime pop music industry, ascended together alongside the broadcast television industry. Dragon Ball rose along with it.

Production

An OP and ED begins with an anime production company hiring a musician or record company to produce music for their show, and then the company makes the music or licenses existing music.

In Dragon Ball’s case, Tōei Animation called the Japanese branch of Columbia Records. In-turn, Columbia Records hired a lyricist, composer, arranger, and vocalist to produce music.

Once the music is produced, a team of animators and directors create a sequence of animation to coincide with the music. When the music aligns with the animation, the product is complete. The synchronized sound and visuals are then broadcast on television. The songs are also produced as singles and published in different medium, such as vinyl records.

Content

What’s in an OP and ED? There’s no formula to follow, but Dragon Ball’s OP and ED are quintessential examples of how it’s done. As a result, many anime released after Dragon Ball contain similar content and timing beats.

The opening animation will often introduce the setting of the anime, the characters that live within it, and depict scenes that establish the relationship between these characters and their role in the series. Its purpose is to establish the show’s identity by repeating the same animation and music at the start of each episode.1 It will often start or end with a title shot depicting the logo of the series. They often last for one to two minutes.

In the opening theme, a limited amount of cast credits may appear on screen, such as the lead voice actors and the author of the manga that the anime is based on. In this case, Akira Toriyama.

The ending animation follows a similar path, but serves as a transition for the viewer to exit the fantasy world of the show and return to the real world. Oftentimes an ending theme doesn’t seem to have as much to do with the overall cast or the plot. Instead of focusing on everyone, they focus on a single character, an idea, or a feeling that the show wants you to depart with. When compared to the OP, the ED can feel like a non-sequitur, meaning that there doesn’t seem to be any logical connection between the ED and the OP, or even to the show itself. However, there is usually a subtle emotional connection that becomes clear upon analyzing the ED’s song lyrics, visual content, or relation to the events within the show as the story unfolds.

In the ending theme, the animators will display the full cast credits and production staff for each episode.

Single

In today’s modern anime productions it’s common for a series to change its theme’s music every 20 to 40 episodes, or at the beginning of each new fixed season. But this was unheard of in the 1980s. As a result of the times, Dragon Ball has a single OP song and a single ED song for the entirety of its 153 episodes.

Makafushigi adobenchā! and Romantikku ageru yo were made for the sole purpose of supporting Dragon Ball’s success. This music was produced before the age when Japanese pop bands published music outside of anime and then had their songs licensed by their publisher for an anime series. Likewise for when a band’s lead singer was hired as the vocalist for an anime’s OP or ED with the goal of selling more albums and promoting their career. Same for tying into another form of media, such as a movie, TV show, book, or game. For Dragon Ball’s theme songs, the only goal in mind for the lyricist, composer, arranger, vocalist, and producers of these songs was to elicit emotion in the viewer.

Because there are only two themes for the entire Dragon Ball anime, fans watching at home become habitualized to hearing these themes, and emotionally invested in the series through its music. So when they hear the OP they enter into the world of the show, and when they hear the ED they are taken out of the show until the next episode airs. During its initial broadcast, this could only occur once a week, and the themes were the gateways into and out of that special period of time. Through subsequent viewings, at some point the line between the music and the show blurs, and simply hearing the music could elicit the same feelings and emotions as watching the show, oftentimes associated with nostalgia for the characters, the world they live in, and the experience of watching their story unfold.

Even though the song remains the same over the course of the series, the anime staff did replace certain parts of the animation in the OP and ED at key demarcations of Gokū’s story. For example, when Gokū returns as a taller and stronger young man at the start of the 23rd Tenkaichi Budōkai, the animator’s added new animation sequences to the OP and ED to reflect Gokū and the cast’s more mature appearance. We’ll explore these changes in the final chapter of this section.

Staff

There is one record label and 6 musicians involved in the creation of Dragon Ball’s OP and ED. Each of them is integral to the production of this music. What made these people qualified to create the music for Dragon Ball? Let’s meet them now so that we can discuss their role in the creation of these songs.

Producer

The OP and ED of Dragon Ball were produced by Nippon Koromubia Kabushiki Kaisha (日本コロムビア株式会社, “Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd,” founded 1910), which is otherwise known as the Japanese branch of Koromubia Rekōdo (コロムビアレコード, “Columbia Records”). For this reason they’re often referred to as Koromubia. Their headquarters is in Tōkyō, located nearby Tōei and Shūeisha, the producers of the Dragon Ball anime and manga, respectively. They are the oldest record company in Japan, and are one of the largest music producers and publishers.2

Tōei hired Koromubia to produce the OP and ED, so they assigned their in-house producers to find talent within and without the company. Koromubia then oversaw the production of the tracks. As a result, Nippon Koromubia owns the copyright and licenses for Dragon Ball’s OP and ED music to this day.

Through conversations with the following talents I was able to determine the lead in charge of the project.

Maeyama Hirokuni

Maeyama Hirokuni (前山 寛邦, birthdate unknown) is the director and lead producer of Dragon Ball’s OP and ED. It was his job to make hiring decisions and oversee each song’s development.

Through conversations with Maeyama-san, I learned that he became friends with the composer, Ike Takeshi, around the start of Dragon Ball’s production. He has worked with Koromubia his entire career, and is now their Representative Director—which is a Japanese job title that stands for a mix between a CEO and President. He oversees the company. His success with Dragon Ball is one of many that propelled him up the company ladder.

Ōkawa Masayoshi

Ōkawa Masayoshi (大川正義)3 is a music producer who would work with the following musicians described in this section to create official Dragon Ball albums in 2005, and an unofficial one called Inazuma Challenger in 2008.

He is a composer, jazz enthusiast, disc producer, distributor, copyright manager, and audio engineer for albums, movies, and commercials. He won an academy award for producing the music in the globally acclaimed and box-office record-breaking anime film Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (千と千尋の神隠し, “Spirited Away,” 2001), by Studio Ghibli. He produced the music for 6 of Ghibli’s award-winning films.

Lyricists

The lyricist writes the words for the songs. Like a screenplay writer for a movie or play, the composition, singing, and animation begin with the words the lyricist writes.

Mori Yuriko

Mori Yuriko (森 由里子, born October 26, unknown year) is the lyricist for the OP theme. Her real name is Mutō Yuriko (武藤 由里子). Mori-san wrote the lyrics for the OP’s song and devised the concept and vision for the music.

Mori-san graduated from the private Ferisu Jogakuin Daigaku (フェリス女学院大学, “Ferris University”) from the Department of Japanese Literature, Faculty of Letters. Mori-san is a multi-award-winning song writer. Her professional website, personal website, and Twitter state she has written over 1,300 songs in anime, J-Pop, movies, films, and video game soundtracks. She also wrote several insert songs within Dragon Ball’s episodes. She told me that she started with Dragon Ball’s Makafushigi adobenchā!, and the success of this song launched her career.

Yoshida Takemi

Yoshida Takemi (吉田 健美, orよしだ たてみ, birthdate unknown) is the lyricist for the ED theme. He had a similar job to Mori-san, of conceptualizing the theme of the music for the ending. He also wrote four insert songs within Dragon Ball’s episodes. Yoshida-san wrote for successful pop idols and enka singers in Japan during the 1970s and ‘80s, but he was not a prolific writer. Little is known about him, and my attempts to track him down for an interview proved unfruitful. None of the other people involved in Dragon Ball’s music knew how to reach him, nor the vocalists and companies he once wrote songs for. There also seem to be no interviews conducted with him. It’s as if he vanished from the entertainment world.

Composer

The composer receives the lyrics from the lyricist and writes music in accordance with them.

Ike Takeshi

Ike Takeshi (いけたけし, born October 25, 1953) is the composer of the OP and ED. In 1977 he graduated from the Kurano Bijutsu Daigaku Zōkei-gaku (蔵野美術大学造形学, “Kurano Art University”) from the Department of Commercial Design. After Dragon Ball’s anime premiere on February 11, 1986, in the fall of ‘86, Ike Takeshi changed the writing of his professional name to kanji (池毅) that is pronounced the same way; so the OP and ED were the last two songs to have his name credited in hiragana. Ike-san has been in the music industry his entire life, starting with his professional debut in 1978. He gradually became one of the most prolific composers in Japan, and to date has composed over 2,000 songs, in every genre imaginable.4–5

For Dragon Ball, Ike-san received the lyrics from Mori-san and Yoshida-san and then composed the music for each song for their respective vocalist to sing to. He would go on to compose the ending theme for Dragon Ball Z, titled Detekoi tobikiri ZENKAI pawā! (でてこいとびきりZENKAIパワー！, “Come Out, Exceptional ZENKAI Power!”), and the second opening theme, Bokutachi wa tenshi datta (僕達は天使だった, “We Were Angels”).

Arranger

The arranger’s job is to take the composition and plan its performance to fit within the constraints of the show’s allotted time, choose specific instruments, and tie the music’s different parts together by sequencing the notes into layered tracks.

Tanaka Kōhei

Tanaka Kōhei (田中公平, born February 14, 1954) is the arranger of the music for Ike-san’s compositions of the OP and ED. Born in Ōsaka, Tanaka-san is an anime music industry veteran, and like Ike-san, has composed and arranged thousands of songs for anime, movies, video games, drama, Japanese superhero (tokusentai) series, and standalone music albums. He is the founder and main member of the music production company Kabushiki-gaisha Imajin (株式会社イマジン, “Imagine Co., Ltd.,” founded January 11, 1986), which primarily makes music for anime.67 He founded this company only one month before the broadcast date of Dragon Ball Episode 1, on February 26, 1986.

Vocalists

The vocalists receive the lyrics from the lyricist, and the music from the composer and arranger, and then sing the lyrics in accordance with the music.

Takahashi Hiroki

Takahashi Hiroki (高橋 洋樹, born November 6, 1965) is the vocalist for the OP, Makafushigi adobenchā!

Takahashi-san is an anime singer and a building surveyor who is known for his rock music style. He was the vocalist for the Japanese band COME ON BABY (カモンベイビー, 1985–1990). He stopped working in music in 1994, but returned in 2004, and now splits his time between music and architecture.

In 2019, Takahashi-san began touring with the Dragon Ball Symphonic Adventure, which traveled to various countries to perform music from Dragon Ball. During a performance in Madrid, Spain, on January 18, 2020, Takahashi-san fell from the stage and injured himself. But after being hospitalized for several days, he made a full recovery. He continues to perform live, and proudly uses the moniker of ‘Dragon Ball First Singer’ on his social media.

Hashimoto Ushio

Hashimoto Ushio (橋本 潮, born September 22, 1965) is the vocalist for the ED, Romantikku ageru yo.

Hashimoto-san attended the private high school corporation Myōjō Gakuen (明星学園, “Bright Star High School”) in Tōkyō. After graduating, she won a theme song contest sponsored by Nippon Koromubia for the anime adaptation of the manga series Chōjin rokku (超人ロック, “Locke the Superman,” 1967), held in March, 1984. As a result, she became a member of Koromubia’s record label and sang various anime songs for them. She graduated from the private Wakō Daigaku (和光大学, “Wako University”) in Tōkyō in the Department of Arts.

Hashimoto-san became famous for singing Romantikku ageru yo in 1986. Dragon Ball’s popularity in Japan as the #1 anime propelled her into fame as an anime song singer. She continues to perform live.

In both cases, these lyricists became famous due to their respective OP and ED theme songs. They are forever tied to these themes, and they remain their calling cards.

Stories

The production of Dragon Ball’s OP and ED began in the winter of 1985. The anime premiered on February 26, 1986. What happened in those months in-between? In the next chapter we will explore the story behind the opening theme’s production and its meaning. This marks the beginning of our mysterious adventure!

1 Outside of anime, another name for the opening animation is a title sequence.

2 Nippon Columbia’s first anime theme song was published in 1965 for the show Janguru taitei (ジャングル大帝, “Jungle Emperor Leo,” aka Kimba), titled Reo no uta (レオのうた, “Leo’s Song”). They celebrated their 55thanime song anniversary in 2015: https://natalie.mu/music/news/154195

3 Ōkawa Masayoshi’s website, Bic River Company, lists Inazuma Challenger and other official Dragon Ball albums, along with dozens of other works: http://bicriver.co.jp/works.html, additional discography: https://www.discogs.com/ja/artist/325536-Masayoshi-Okawa.

4 Ike Takeshi debuted with the song, Ho ho hon’nori cherī pinku (ほ･ほ･ほんのりチェリーピンク, “Ho-Ho-Hon’nori Cherry Pink,” 1978). In 1979 he joined a three-man band called He-Story (Hisutorī, ヒストリー), consisting of Koiwa Masayuki (小岩 正幸), Ike Takeshi, and Jun Suguwara (菅原 ジュン). They released a 5-song album with the hit single Kekkon Shimasu (結婚します, “We Will Get Married”). Kekkon Shimasu was used as an insert song for the drama show Netsuai Ikka LOVE (熱愛一家LOVE, “Devoted Family LOVE,” 1979) and it reached #26 on the Orikon charts that year. He-Story disbanded in ’81, and Ike-san then began his solo music writing career. The Kekkon Shimasu (結婚します) song video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3m2Fcv8JsI

5 Ike Takeshi’s profile on his personal website: http://www.iketake.com/profile.html

6 Tanaka Kōhei’s music company, Imajin, in Tōkyō: https://www.imagine-music.co.jp/

7 Tanaka-san graduated from the private Ōsaka seikō gakuin chūgakkō - kōtō gakkō (大阪星光学院中学校・高等学校, “Osaka Seikō Gakuin Junior and Senior High School”) and the prestigious Tōkyō Geijutsu Daigaku (東京藝術大学, “Tokyo University of Arts”) in the Department of Music. He worked in the advertising department at the anime-focused Kabushiki-gaisha JVC Ken’uddo Bikutā Entateinmento (株式会社JVCケンウッド・ビクターエンタテインメント, “JVC Kenwood Victor Entertainment Corporation,” founded April 25, 1972) for 3 years. He then studied abroad at the private Berklee College of Music for two years, in Boston, United States. After he returned to Japan, he started composing.

OP: Makafushigi adobenchā!

Title: Makafushigi adobenchā! (魔訶不思議アドベンチャー！, “Mysterious Adventure!”)

Premieres: February 26, 1986, in Dragon Ball Episode 1. Released on 7-inch vinyl record and cassette on March 1, 1986, and 8 cm CD on March 21, 1998, alongside the ED theme, Romantikku ageru yo.1

Used: Episodes 1–153, Movies 1–3.

Length: 1:47 broadcast time. 3:42 complete.

Publisher: Nippon Koromubia.

Lyrics: Mori Yuriko (森 由里子).

Composition: Ike Takeshi (いけたけし, or 池毅).

Arrangement: Tanaka Kōhei (田中公平).

Vocals: Takahashi Hiroki (高橋洋樹).

Introduction

Makafushigi adobenchā! is the theme song for the opening of Dragon Ball’s 153 episodes.2 This song is energetic, emotional, and thrilling. Thematically it represents a song about Son Gokū’s idealism, thirst for adventure, desire to become stronger, and how this thrusts him into a mysterious quest for seven magical dragon balls. Because it’s in every episode, this song becomes an iconic signature track and represents the series at large to an entire generation. It has been localized in Brazil, Italy, Spain, America, and elsewhere, so that each respective version of the song has become familiar to new generations that grow up with the series.

What is the history of Dragon Ball’s opening theme? Why is this song so exciting and iconic? The following tale reveals a song title inspired by Buddhist lyrics and Eastern culture that changed the lives of those who made it and listened to it.

We’ll begin by exploring the origin of the song’s title, and then meet the people who produced it.

Etymology

Makafushigi adobenchā! (魔訶不思議アドベンチャー！, ‘mah-kah-fu-shee-gee ah-doh-ben-chah,’ “Mysterious Adventure!”) contains a complex Japanese term that is followed by a simple Western term approximated in Japanese. In this section we will explore the origin and meaning of these terms.

Makafushigi

Makafushigi (魔訶不思議, “mysterious,” or “profound mystery”) is a 5-kanji compound word, consisting of the two terms of maka (魔訶) and fushigi (不思議).

Maka

Maka is a compound word consisting of two kanji of Buddhist words.

Ma (魔, “demon,” “devil,” “ogre,” “magic,” or “evil”) is derived from Māra (Sanskrit: मार), the Indian name of the demon king of Buddhist lore that tempts the Buddhā before his moment of enlightenment. Mara’s name was transliterated from Sanskrit to Chinese as mó, and then again into Japanese as ma. Ma is a common word in Japanese culture and in Dragon Ball, with its many demonic characters, such as Pikkoro Daima-ō and Majin Bū.

Composer Ike Takeshi comments on the use of this kanji and its relationship to Dragon Ball on his website.3 Ike-san says, “The character of ma is an ateji devised by the lyricist Ms. Mori Yuriko. Originally, the first word of the title was written as makafushigi (摩訶不思議, “mysterious”), but I think that using the character of ma (魔) expresses the worldview of Dragon Ball wonderfully.”

The distinction here is that the traditional Japanese word for mysterious has the first kanji of ma (摩, “wear,” “rub,” or “chafe”), but instead of using this ma, Mori-san changes it to the homophonic ma (魔). When characters look similar but have different meanings, in Japanese semantics this is called an ateji (当て字, “phonetic equivalent character”). When you look closely you can see that ma (摩) has the radical for te (手, “hand”) at the bottom, while ma (魔) has the kanji for oni (鬼, “demon,” or “magic”) at the bottom. Mori-san replaces the standard kanji with the more magical kanji for this word in order to convey the spirit of Dragon Ball in the song’s title.4

In fact, ma (摩), the standard kanji in this word, has no meaning here, and is only included for its sound, as part of its transliterated use with ma in maka.

Maka (摩訶, “great”) is a Buddhist compound derived from the Sanskrit mahā (महा, “great”), transliterated into the Chinese as móhē, and then into Japanese as maka. It can be found in Buddhist words such as Maka Birushana (摩訶毘盧遮那, “Great Vairocana [Buddhā]”), via the Sanskrit Mahā-Vairocana (वैरोचन). And when you replace the original ma (摩) kanji with Mori-san’s preferred ma (魔) kanji, then you get maka (魔訶, “magic”). Makafushigi is a term derived from this maka root.

Lyricist Mori-san chose to use this archaic kanji compound for the song’s title instead of the foreign loanword approximation of misuteriasu (ミステリアス, “mysterious”). The word mysterious is derived from the Latin mysterium and the Ancient Greek mustḗrion (“a secret,” or “initiated one”), referring to something that can only be understood through the imparting of hidden knowledge via a secret rite. But in common parlance, mysterious means something that is unknown, unexplainable, obscured, and waiting to be discovered. The word was then exported to Japan where it was transliterated as misuteriasu. Mori-san is aware that this foreign loanword exists, and that it would be simple for the Japanese audience to understand, but she is also aware that it would be shallow, while the kanji of maka and fushigi have depth.

Fushigi

Fushigi (不思議, “mysterious,” “wonderful,” “curious,” “strange,” or “unthinkable”) is a compound word consisting of three kanji.

Fu (不, “no,” “not,” “do not,” “non-,” or “un-“) is a kanji that implies the negative.

Shi (思, “think,” “cogitate,” or “yearn”) is a kanji for thinking.

Gi (議, “deliberation,” “debate,” or “consideration”) is a kanji for serious thought on a subject.

Thus, fushigi (不思議) means “do not think or consider.”

Fushigi is a shorthand form of the Buddhist term fukashigi (不可思議, “cannot ponder the significance of”). Here the added kanji of ka (可, “can,” or “able to”) is joined with fu (不, “not”) to mean “cannot.” Fukashigi is used to describe something that is incomprehensible by the human mind. It’s used in Buddhism for a case in philosophical discourse when no one can wrap their head around a subject through human logic and words, and it’s deemed best not to analyze or discuss it because the very act of doing so would negate what the subject is, and its subsequent understanding. From a poetic perspective, speaking about such a subject is like trying to grab the reflection of the moon in a still pond. From this feeling, such inscrutable ideas were deemed fukashigi and became associated with mysteriousness, the profound, and the ineffable. And from fukashigi was derived the shorter fushigi.

Makafushigi

Thus, when maka (摩訶, “great”) and fushigi (不思議, “mystery”) are combined, you get makafushigi (摩訶不思議, “great mystery”). With Mori-san’s replacement homophonic kanji for ma (魔) you get makafushigi (魔訶不思議, “magical mystery”), with the subtext of greatness.

The ancient Buddhist origins of makafushigi make it a perfect choice for the title of a song that introduces viewers to the adventures of Son Gokū, the monkey-tailed boy derived from the ancient Buddhist warrior and monk Sūn Wùkōng, who himself is derived in part from the monkey warrior Hanuman, via India, the birthplace of Buddhism.

Adobenchā

Adobenchā (アドベンチャー, “adventure”) is a foreign loanword and Japanese approximation of the Middle English and French word aventure, derived from the Latin adventurus (“to arrive,” “to happen,” or “to befall”). Adventure refers to the taking-on of risks, hazards, and enterprise, unforeseen events, an exciting endeavor, and remarkable occurrences. It’s a perfect word to describe Gokū’s journey.

Similar to Mori-san choosing to use makafushigi instead of misuteriasu, Mori-san did not use the native Japanese kanji of bōken (冒険, “adventure,” or “risk”), even though the words mean the same thing. If she had, then the song’s title could have been Makafushigi bōken. Or reversing the cultural flow’s order, Misuteriasu bōken.

Instead, we get an Eastern term for “mystery” and a Western term for “adventure.”

Significance

By combining the Eastern word of makafushigi and the Western word of adobenchā, the song title of Makafushigi adobenchā! signifies the meeting of Eastern and Western linguistics, thus representing a parallel with the meeting of Eastern and Western culture via Son Gokū and Buruma that occurs in Dragon Ball Episode 1.

Gokū represents Eastern magic and mystery, with his profound strength, mastery of spiritual energy, ethos of self-improvement, and pure-hearted innocence, while Buruma represents Western exploration, curiosity for externalities, science-minded logic, and desires for personal wishes to be satisfied.

Buruma crashing into Gokū during her search for the dragon balls brings the West and East together, where henceforth the two travelers embark upon a magical and mysterious adventure. A literal Makafushigi adobenchā!

Translation

The official translation of Makafushigi adobenchā! into English by the North American license holder FUNimation is “Mystical Adventure!” So with the above etymology in mind, why isn’t the song translated as ‘Great Mysterious Adventure!’ or ‘Magic Mystery Adventure!’ in localizations?

My guess as to why is two-fold. First, because they didn’t know the history of the word’s etymology when they translated it. Second because ‘great’ is an adjective, and if something is already mysterious and inscrutable, then adding ‘great’ to it doesn’t make a difference, as it’s already beyond comprehension. I do feel that ‘magical’ can stand on its own next to ‘mysterious,’ so it could be there in the translation, but it’s a replacement kanji for a whole word that by itself, as makafushigi, simply means “mysterious.” So, in the end, Mori-san’s replacement means that the magical subtext is implied, rather than stated. Even Japanese people might not be aware of the replacement kanji for ma. As a result, this subtext gets lost in translation.

Therefore, if you want to call the song by its real meaning, it would be ‘Magic Mystery Adventure!’ But at the very least, calling it ‘Mysterious Adventure!’ is easier to say and still gets the point across. So long as you realize that it’s also magical.

Mori-san told me, “The song was originally submitted with a different title. Afterward, I fixed it. … In hindsight, I’m glad I did.” She added, “But I’m not the only one who made this decision. [For every song], music publisher producers, program producers, record company producers, and many others submit titles and select them.” I asked if she would share the original title, but she declined. “I will keep the original title a secret. This is because I have not announced the original title anywhere.” So, the original title of Makafushigi adobenchā! will remain a mystery, just like the meaning of the final title.

Mori

How did Mori Yuriko become the lyricist for Dragon Ball’s opening theme, the successor to the ultra-successful Dr. Slump? As a child, Mori-san had a talent in piano and writing. She put the practice aside during her early teenage years, but picked it up again in university. In 2023, she said in an interview about her book, exploring her youth, spirituality, and the future of Japan, “It started when I was in high school and university. I bad both the desire to write and a love of music, so I decided to be a lyricist and to compose songs at the same time. I was composing while playing them, and they sounded beautiful, but I didn’t have confidence in myself, and I didn’t think I could remember how to play songs well from memory. As a lyricist, I only had to focus on writing one song at a time.”5

In 1985, her first lyrics were published in three songs for children’s TV shows, plus a musician’s album and an anime album.6 By the end of 1985, she was still a newcomer to the industry, but she had proven herself enough to be asked to participate in a competition to write the lyrics for Dragon Ball. She said, “This was the first time I would be selected for a big job.” However, “It was such a big competition that I didn’t think my work would be accepted at all. I went to a cafe in Jiyūgaoka, 2nd Meguro Ward, and spent about 3 hours writing. I never thought that they’d decide on these lyrics.”7

How did she prepare? She told me, “Of course, I knew about Dr. Slump, and I heard that this was a big project because it would follow after that, but I didn’t know about Dragon Ball. So, in order to participate in the competition, the record company sent me three volumes of the manga. A very interesting and engrossing read. I think I was able to write a work that was adopted because I felt it was so interesting.” She added, “It was a competition, but I wasn’t too nervous. I think it helped my chances that I was able to make it just for fun.”

Looking back on her career, she finds that most lyrics don’t come so easily. “I can’t write whatever and whenever I feel like it. If I don’t write according to the orders I receive from my producer, I have to make corrections many times. Music lyrics are short, but everything is condensed into it. That’s the joy and pain of writing lyrics.” Commenting on the craft of writing and where her ideas come from: “It’s the type of thoughts that enter your mind in a certain moment. I’m sure there are people who can write something very easily, but I’m not someone who can write lyrics that quickly, so, in most cases, since I have been given the music of the song first, I mainly write it while listening to the song. … It’s not just about the singer of the anime, it’s about getting close to the work; so I think about how I want the listener to fall in love with the singer or the work. If you think about it for hours and listen to the song—listen, listen, listen—and think about it persistently, it will come out. And as a professional, it’s important to have a deadline, hehe. … At other times there are moments when things just suddenly come to me, and I feel like there’s a deeper connection.” Dragon Ball’s opening lyrics were different from many in her oeuvre, in that she wrote the lyrics first, before having any music—inspired only by the manga—and the words came quickly.

After reading the lyrics submitted by everyone in the competition, the producers then selected hers. The success of Dragon Ball’s opening theme song would launch her career that would last for four decades (and counting), and lead to over 1,300 songs in anime, video games, J-Pop, film, TV shows, and beyond.

In 2020, Mori-san said on her Twitter, “One of the big reasons why I like to write lyrics is that I have been helped by songs for a long time. The lyrics of the melody enter my ears and permeate the wounds of my heart. When I’m having a hard time, I suddenly listen to a song at a convenience store that makes me realize and appreciate that I’m alive. I want to believe that the lyrics I wrote can also be like that.”8

Lyrics

The lyrics of Makafushigi adobenchā! convey a feeling of excitement and adventure. They impart the idea of having big goals, never giving up, and making a concerted effort to be a part of the world and enact your will upon it in a positive way. The words impart the traditional meaning of romantic idealism, adventure, and making your dreams a reality.

The text features a creative blend of Japanese kanji, hiragana, and katakana scripts, plus English words and foreign loanwords rendered in Japanese. This blend expresses the meeting of cultures found in Dragon Ball’s fusion culture content. The success of this combinatory linguistics style in this OP would go on to become Mori-san’s trademark.

The lyrics to Makafushigi adobenchā! were written before the song was composed. This means that the song’s melody as composed by Ike-san is based on these lyrics. As a result, the melody of Makafushigi adobenchā! is lyrical. This is why there is such a strong feeling of unity and timing between the lyrics and the music, for the Japanese and English words alike.

There is no official translation of the original Japanese lyrics, except for that written by Mori-san for an updated English edition of the song in 2008. The following transcription and translation were made by Dragon Ball fan, Julian “SaiyaJedi” Grybowski.

★ Tsukamō ze!DRAGON BALL (つかもうぜ!　DRAGON BALL, “Let’s grab up the dragon balls!”)

Sekai de ittōsuriru na Himitsu |(世界でいっとー　スリルな秘密, “The world’s most thrilling secret”)

Sagasō ze!DRAGON BALL (さがそうぜ!　DRAGON BALL, “Let’s hunt down the dragon balls!”)

Sekai de ittōyukai na kiseki (世界でいっとー　ユカイな奇跡, “The world’s happiest miracle”)

Kono yo wa dekkai takarajima (この世はでっかい宝島, “This world is one big treasure island”)

Sō sa ima koso adobenchā! (そうさ今こそアドベンチャー!, “That’s right! Now’s the time for adventure!”)

•

Mune waku-waku no ai gaGISSIRI (胸ワクワクの愛が　GISSIRI, “Love is tightly packed inside my excited heart”)

Iro toridori no yume gaDOSSARI (色とりどりの夢が, “I have so many multicolored dreams”)

Kono yo no doko ka dehikatte ’ru (この世のどこかで　ひかってる, “Somewhere in this world, they’re shining”)

Soitsu mitsuke ni yukō ze BOY (そいつ見つけにゆこうぜ, “Let’s go and find them, Boy”)

Yōkaihenge mobuttobashi (妖怪変化も　ぶっとばし, “Beating up all sorts of weird creatures”)

Kumo no mashin dekyō mo tobu no sa (雲のマシンで　今日も翔ぶのさ, “And we’ll fly on the cloud-machine again today”)

•

Let’s try try trymakafushigi (Let’s try try try　魔訶不思議, “Let’s try, try, try, profound mystery”)

Sora o kakenukeyama o koe (空を駆けぬけ　山を越え, “Shooting through the sky, and going over mountains”)

Let’s fly fly flydaibōken (Let’s fly fly fly　大冒険, “Let’s fly, fly, fly, great adventure”)

Fushigi na tabi ga hajimaru ze (不思議な旅が始まるぜ, “Our mysterious journey is about to begin”)

•

Te ni irero!DRAGON BALL (手に入れろ!　DRAGON BALL, “Get ahold of the dragon balls!”)

Sekai de ittōtegowai chansu (世界でいっとー　てごわいチャンス, “The world’s most risky opportunity”)

Oikakero!DRAGON BALL (追いかけろ!　DRAGON BALL, “Chase after the dragon balls!”)

Sekai de ittōikashita dorama (世界でいっとー　イカした物語(ドラマ),9 “The world’s most exciting drama”)

Kono yo wadekkai takarajima (この世はでっかい宝島, “This world is one big treasure island”)

Sō sa ima koso adobenchā! (そうさ今こそアドベンチャー!, That’s right! Now’s the time for adventure!”)

•

Karada ippaiyūki VISSIRI (体いっぱい　勇気VISSIRI, “With his body chock full of courage”)

Hitomi ippaiegao NICCORI (瞳いっぱい　笑顔NICCORI, “And his eyes full of smiles”)

Gokū wa MUJAKI nachōsensha (悟空はMUJAKIな　挑戦者, “Gokū is an innocent competitor”)

Da kedo pawā wahanpa ja nai ze (だけどパワーは　ハンパじゃないぜ, “But his power is no joke”)

Jan-ken panchi niKamehameha (ジャン拳パンチに　かめはめ波, “With a Jan-ken punch and a kamehameha”)

Don’na teki de mokanai wa shinai (どんな敵でも　かないはしない, “He won’t lose to any opponent”)

•

Let’s try try trymakafushigi (Let’s try try try　魔訶不思議, “Let’s try, try, try, profound mystery”)

Niji no burijjikugurinuke (虹のブリッジ　くぐり抜け, “Passing under a rainbow bridge”)

Let’s fly fly flydaibōken (Let’s fly fly fly　大冒険, “Let’s fly, fly, fly, great adventure”)

Fushigi na yume o mi ni yukō (不思議な夢を見に行こう, “Let’s go and have a mysterious dream”)

•

★ repeat (2 times)

Composition

With the lyrics finalized, it was time to compose the music. In my interview with Ike Takeshi, he recalls how he became the composer of Makafushigi adobenchā! He says, “In December of 1985, I was told by the children’s TV producer of Hirake! Ponkikki that there was an audition for the opening and ending songs for the series called Dragon Ball, after Dr. Slump. They told me, ‘The lyrics have already been decided, so why don’t you join the audition for the composition?’”

Hirake! Ponkikki (ひらけ! ポンキッキ, “Open! Ponkikki,” April 2, 1973–September 30, 1993) was a Japanese TV show for children produced by and broadcast on Fuji TV. Similar to the American children’s show Sesame Street (1969–present), Ponkikki featured countless songs and sing-along scenes. Ike Takeshi composed Hirake! Ponkikki’s show motto and song, Itto Shou Taisō (いっとうしょうたいそ, “Let’s Do It,” 1985), and the show’s ending theme, Otenki Bōizu (おてんきボーイズ, “Great Weather Boys”). With this success, Ike-san received a heads up about the audition for Dragon Ball via the referral of a producer on Hirake! Ponkikki.10

Even with a referral, Ike-san had to compete against composers across the country to win this job for the successor show to Dr. Slump, the biggest anime in Japan. It was a huge opportunity, with a huge amount of pressure.

He continues, “But there’s a story here. They said, ‘Ike-san is good at creating melodies for girls, so write Romantikku ageru yo first.’ I said I’d write an opening song if I had time afterward, and then I received two yet-to-be-finalized lyrics.”

After Ike-san received the lyrics written by Mori-san (for the OP) and Yoshida-san (for the ED), he looked them over and had to ask himself a question before he could start to compose music based on these lyrics. What type of style should songs like these have? To find out his thought process, I asked Ike-san about his compositional style, and about what genre each song is intended to be. Ike-san replied, “I composed Makafushigi adobenchā! in the image of an oriental atmosphere, an exciting adventure, and a feeling of flight as you soar through the sky. I wrote it mainly for boys. Can we call it an Oriental Pop song? Is there such a genre? Haha.”

Following his lead, I looked for more music that was classified as Oriental Pop. Confused by the absence of results, Ike-san clarified that there is no such genre as Oriental Pop. Turns out that he made up this term for me as a way to describe the unique sound he developed for this song, combining his pop music sound with an oriental atmosphere and energy. So Makafushigi adobenchā! has a one-of-a-kind sound, and is the first ‘Oriental Pop’ song.

Ike-san added, “In my interpretation, the image of Dragon Ball’s initial stage is based on Saiyūki (a Chinese legend) and Satomi Hakkenden (a Japanese legend). This is what came to mind. So I wrote the song inspired by this image.” He understood the Chinese and Japanese legends and culture that Toriyama based Dragon Ball on, and as a product of his Japanese environment he could imagine what these stories ‘sounded’ like. This gave him an advantage at composing music for a modern rendition of such a story.

Thus, with his target audience of young boys in mind, and using the lyrics as a base for the melody of the music, he composed a song that has a classical oriental atmosphere, a modern pop tone, and conveys a feeling of adventure and flight as you soar through the sky.

As far as the actual process, he says, “I composed the demo music for Romantikku ageru yo in about a week. Since the deadline for submission was in one or two days, I started Makafushigi adobenchā! right afterward.” As suggested by his producer, Ike-san started with the composition intended for girls, and then with the time he had remaining he wrote the composition intended for boys. He says in an interview on Mini-chestra, “I had already finished the ending theme, Romantikku ageru yo, as my composer audition, so I didn’t feel as much pressure and finished the composition [for Makafushigi adobenchā!] in only two days.”11

As it so happens, his ignorance of Dragon Ball’s specific content helped him just as much as his knowledge of the Eastern literary classics it was based on. He says, “Actually, I knew that Dragon Ball was in [Weekly Shōnen] Jump, but I had never read it. So I didn’t know much about the story. But because I didn’t know, I think that allowed me to write a melody that gives people a sense of adventure and excitement just from the lyrics I received without being bound by fixed concepts.”

For Makafushigi adobenchā!, “I remember that the melody came to me easily right from the start of the lyrics, ‘Tsukamou ze! Doragon bōru!’ (“Let’s get ‘em! The dragon balls!”). The song was finished in no time.” Ike-san touches on a point here, that the composition for Makafushigi adobenchā! was easier and faster than for Romantikku ageru yo, as if the song wrote itself based on the rhythm of the lyrics written by Mori-san.12 Furthering that point, he says, “The brief rest between ‘Tsukamou ze! Doragon bōru,’ right? It’s a gap where the listener wants to shout to fill the gap. By creating a blank space like this, people who are listening will naturally want to shout. We made them feel excitement as if they were involved in it, and it makes it easier for them to attach to the song.” Something as simple as a moment of silence is a detail that Ike-san highlights for our attention as the key to bringing the audience into the emotion of the music.

Ike-san makes the compositional process almost sound as if it were easy. However, there was one word in the lyrics and title that created some trouble for his composition. That of ‘adobenchā.’ Ike-san says that after he was hired, “It got a little difficult. The video producer was fluent in English, and he made a request for me to consider several patterns of melodies for the ‘adobenchā’ part. He wanted me to make adobenchā sound like the English “adventure”…. However, Mori Yuriko’s lyrics manuscript wrote ‘adobenchā’ in katakana, so I wondered, ‘Can I use this melody?’ I couldn’t say. After all, I timed the first submission’s melody to the way she wrote it.”

Mori-san wrote the lyrics of adobenchā (アドベンチャー) in katakana, just as in the song’s title. Katakana is used for transcribing foreign loanwords so a Japanese citizen can pronounce the word and understand it. But the pronunciation is different between the Japanese adobenchā (‘ah-doh-ben-chah’) and English adventure (‘ed-ven-churr’). So, a song’s melody written for the katakana word would sound different than a melody written for the English word. As a result, Ike-san was put into a compositional dilemma, as his producer wanted the English word, but the lyricist wrote it in katakana. In the end, Ike-san says, “I considered several patterns, but I eventually settled on the first melody I submitted.” So the Japanese pronunciation of the foreign loanword won the day.

Ike-san adds, “I feel like the dramatic structure was good, too, if I do say so myself—where, after the forceful minor[-key] chorus, the A melody, A’ melody, and B melody, with “Let’s Fly, Fly, Fly, makafushigi…”, develops in a major key, giving the feeling of soaring on kintōun, before heading into the chorus once again.”

What Ike-san refers to here are the lyrics in the song, “Let’s Try, Try, Try, makafushigi…” Followed by, “Let’s Fly, Fly, Fly, daibōken.” The repetition of the short words in English, followed by a longer word in Japanese, has a strong rhythm to it that invites the viewer to sing along as Gokū rushes forward on his cloud. Ike-san’s composition strengthens this desire to join Gokū on his adventure.

He also refers to the musical form of this segment of the composition with letter designations, and the terms minor and major. In music theory, the first statement of a composition is designated as A. The first form repeats itself as A’ (A prime), followed by a different sound in B. Ike-san says the minor-key chorus is followed by a major key, which increases the energy of Gokū’s soaring on kintōun.