Dragon Ball - the anime that made Catalan cool
Durada: 24 min
01/02/2025
Dragon Ball - or Bola de Drac Catalan - was created as a manga, a style of comic or graphic novel, by Akira Toriyama in 1984, and was later made into an animated television programme, also known as an anime. It was the first Japanese series of its kind to be dubbed into Catalan and is etched in the memory of generations of Catalans who grew up watching Son Goku on his quest for dragon balls. We meet actor Marc Zanni, voice of the protagonist Son Goku, to discover why the dubbing of Dragon Ball helped to promote the Catalan language. At Norma Comics in Barcelona, Dragon Ball fans explain why the series formed such an important part of their childhood. And experts Oriol Estrada and Daniel Cassany discuss how we can continue to create cultural content that resonates with audiences.This week's Catalan phrase is 'setciències', an archaic insult used by Vegeta in Dragon Ball which means 'seven sciences' and is the equivalent to being a 'clever clogs' or 'know-it-all' in English.