The six degrees of dancers and Dragon Ball.

Dragon Ball FighterZ has really captured the eyes of the fighting game community. I couldn’t be happier. I’ve been saying that the Street Fighter series has lost its way for some time. Questionable decisions have really detracted from the roster. I felt that it was only a matter of time before there was another game to dethrone it in terms of popularity. I think part of the reason why the Dragon Ball game has been so well received is because it manages to recapture the spirit of the earlier Dragon Ball Z: Butoden games that appeared on the Super Famicom in the early ‘90s. By keeping the mechanics 2D rather than being able to fly around and fight in 3D, as in the Dragon Ball Budokai series, players can focus on a more traditional fighting game experience. I look forward to seeing the return of classic characters as this series develops.

I hope to see some of the rare characters that were used one time in the various Dragon Ball Z films. One of the more interesting characters ever to appear in a movie was Android 15. The spunky little fighter debuted in the 1992 film Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! I’m not going to sugar coat the character. He was very much coded as a black trope. The dark skin, big lips, earring, and outlandish costume all signaled of black stereotypes. I wouldn’t call Dragon Ball creator Akira “Dr. Slump” Toriyama a racist however, instead he was reflecting the pop culture that he grew up with.

 

Son Goku was based in part on the myth of Sun Wukong the Monkey King. He was also based in part on Superman as he was the last survivor of a doomed alien planet. These characters and legends existed well before Dr. Slump was ever born. The things that he saw in pop culture helped inspire many of his creations. Android 15 for example had been in the back of his mind for some time. The character was most likely inspired by the Lockers dance crew. The dance team was formed in 1971 and was a sort of west coast response to the breakdancing trend that started in New York. Breaking, popping and locking all evolved out of street dance in the early ‘70s. These trendy dances and dancers were featured on shows like Soul Train. The most popular of the Lockers was Fred “Rerun” Berry (rip) who appeared as the comedic relief on the show What’s Happening’

The outlandish costume, the big hat and bright colors of Android 15 was most likely based on the costumes worn by the Lockers whenever they appeared on television. Trends moved slower back in the '70s and ‘80s than they did today. Without the internet it took a long time for fads to catch on in other states and especially around the world. Dr. Slump was incorporating designs in the ‘80s on things that had been popular in the US in the ‘70s. He wasn't the only one. The people working at Capcom also used the things that were popular to them in the late '70s and early '80s when creating the Street Fighter line up. Mad Max, Streets of Fire, Master of the Flying Guillotine were just some of the movies that helped shape the Capcom legends. The stories and characters from the '80s helped shape the '90s, the '90s helped shape the '00s and so on. Pop culture, comics and movies all shaped the look of the fighting game icons. I want you to remember that the next time you fire up a fighting game. Ask yourself where the character came from, chances are there was somebody that inspired them. As always if you enjoyed this blog and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!