Anime
‘Dragon Ball’: Toriyama got inspired by Bruce Lee for two key moments in the Goku vs Freezer fight
Bruce Lee, the legendary martial artist and actor from the 60s, was an unending source of inspiration for Akira Toriyama as he created Dragon Ball.
Bruce Lee was the most influential actor in the martial arts film industry until his early death in 1973 at just 32 years old. A popular culture icon that has been reflected in countless audiovisual products throughout the following decades; and ‘Dragon Ball’, the popular manga and anime created by Akira Toriyama is not the exception. So much so, that the famous mangaka inspired himself on the actor on different occasions, beyond that character called Great Lee with which Krillin faced in the preliminary phase of the World Martial Arts Tournament, easily defeating him, as well as his fleeting return in West City, when Goku wins a bet in the middle of the street.
“Empty your mind. Be like water, my friend.”
But returning to the tributes to Bruce Lee in ‘Dragon Ball’ through their combat techniques and their way of understanding martial arts, Toriyama drew on two key aspects of the famous actor for two different moments of Goku versus Freezer. In ‘Dragon Ball Z: The Resurrection of Frieza’ we witnessed one of those moments when Goku in Super Saiyan Blue mode hits Frieza Gold in the chest in a very particular way.
With just the tips of two fingers, Goku deals a tremendous blow to Frieza that leaves him breathless. It’s about the “one-inch punch” technique, popularized by Bruce Lee. But it is also another demonstration of the level of power achieved by Goku, finding the balance between mind and body, thus being much superior to its rival; and this is precisely the way the famous actor understood martial arts.
Another time Toriyama based himself on Bruce Lee was when Goku transforms into Super Saiyan for the first time on Namek, again, before Frieza; This is how he explained it in an interview: “His eyes right after transforming for the first time and look at Frieza. I based myself on Bruce Lee” Toriyama explained at the time. “That look of his with which he stares at you is paralyzing. That’s what I wanted to do in the Frieza arc. Once Goku made that look, as far as I’m concerned, the story arc ended”, concluded the mangaka.
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