I have sold another product on eBay. It is a figure of Prince Vegeta from Dragon Ball.
Thank you very much.

I thought that Dragon Ball is very popular.
I have a lot of goodies and we want to sell more and more of them.
When I sell a character, I look up the English name of the character, and it’s usually the Japanese name that’s used as the English name.
Do international fans know the origin of the names of the Dragon Ball characters?
Japanese men like ourselves, who grew up with Dragon Ball, know it like it’s common knowledge, even if we’re not fans.
Today’s under 20s may not know much about it.
Kids these days have Dragon Ball Super, so if their fathers are well educated, they might know about it.

Vegeta, for example, is a Saiyan elite and a prince.
Firstly, the word Saiyan comes from the Japanese word for vegetable (yasai) .

Saiya: “ya sa i” in rearranged order Saiya.
And the prince of the Saiyans, Vegeta, is a vegetable.
Vegeta: Scrape off the word vegetable to make Vegeta.

The name of the main character, Son Goku, is taken from the Journey to the West.
The Journey to the West is a Chinese story, but even Japanese children know it from picture books.
Son Goku’s Saiyan name is Kakarot.
Kakarot: From carrot, Kakarot.

Saiyans are named in connection with vegetables.

Nappa: Vegetable leaves are called “nappa” in Japanese.
Raditz: Raditz, a pun on the word radish.
Bardock: Bardock, a pun on the word burdock.

Did Freeza’s control over the Saiyans include the meaning of freezing food?
Freeza: Freeza, a pun on the word freezer.
Freeza’s soldiers are also foodstuffs. Fruit-based.
Zarbon: Zarbon is the Japanese word for pomelo, a pun on “za bo n“.
Dodoria: Dodoria is the Japanese word for durian, from “do ri a n“.
Cui: Kiwi is “ki u i” in Japanese, but Cui.
Now look what you’ve done. You’ve destroyed my dream of immortality.

Ginyu Forces is a dairy product.
Ginyu: Ginyu is the Japanese word for milk in Japanese from “gyu nyu”.
Guldo: Guldo is change by removing the word yogurt yo.
Burter: A pun on the word butter, Burter.
Recoome: A pun on the word cream, Recoome.
Jeice: A pun on the word cheese, Jeice.

Freeza’s family is a cold family.
Cooler: Cooler as it is.
King Cold: Cold as it is.

Not only “Dragon Ball Z”, but since the early days of “Dragon Ball”, it has had this kind of naming.
Kurillin: The Japanese word for marron is “ku ri“, from which it gets Kurillin.
Krillin had a girlfriend called Maron. His daughter is Marron.
Bulma: Bulma is a paraphrase of bloomers.
Bloomers were the gym uniform of Japanese junior high school girls until the 1990s.
That’s why so many Japanese moe anime have bloomers as their gym uniform!
Bulma’s family is named after an underwear-related item.
Dr.Brief: Briefs Dr.Brief.
Trunks: Trunks as it is.
Bulla: Change the letters in brassiere to Bulla.

The Chinese foods trio…
Yamcha: Yamcha as it is.
Tien shinhan: Tenshindon is Tenshinhan in Japanese, but Tien shinhan.
Chaotzu: Gyoza in Chinese, Chaotzu.
Oolong and Puar, which are always together, are types of tea leaves.
Oolong: Oolong tea with the letters removed.
Puar: From Pu’er Tea to Puar.

Son Gohan, the son of the main character. Grand farther’s Son Gohan, who picked up Goku, comes from rice.
Gohan: Gohan as it is.
So, my daughter name is Pan.
Pan: Not Bread, but Pan, which is more common in Japan.
Piccolo is a musical instrument.
He even bore tambourines and cymbals from his mouths.

As you can see, Akira Toriyama has a unique sense of naming, but the names are immediately familiar to Japanese people.

It’s like that not only in Dragon Ball but also in Dr. Slump.
Arare Norimaki; seaweed rolls small rice biscuits
Senbei Norimaki; seaweed rolls rice biscuits
Dr Masirito; Torishima Editor

The name of the character seems to have been followed in the sequel Dragon Ball Super, although it is not clear whether Akira Toriyama has decided.
It’s common knowledge and you should know it.

Giving characters names that are easy for children to remember may also have been the secret to making the culture of manga a craze and to growing the content of anime.

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