Silly names, usually involving foreign words, are a trademark of Japanese manga for children. It’s sometimes easy to forget that Dragon Ball was originally printed in a magazine for junior high students (the average age of Weekly Shônen Jump readers is approximately 12-14). Furthermore, Toriyama had his comedy background to consider. Here’s a few of the name references of characters which appear in the movie:
* Goku = a reference to Son Goku, the Monkey King from Saiyûki (very classy)
* Master Roshi = a translation of “Muten Roshi,” Japanese for “the invincible old master.” Muten Roshi is just one of his titles, however; he’s also known as “Kame-Sen’nin”, the “turtle hermit,” because he uses the kame (turtle) style of martial arts. See the turtle shell on his back for weight training?
* Piccolo = a half-size flute
* Yamcha = Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word for “dim sum”
* Bulma = a phonetic misspelling of “bloomers,” i.e., girls’ underwear
* Chichi = Japanese slang for “boobs”
Will Dragonball: Evolution turn into an ongoing franchise, so characters with names like Trunks, Vegeta, Raditz, Freeza, Butta and King Cold will make their appearance? The box office will decide!
