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…
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.
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