This weekend was the North American theatrical premiere of Dragon Ball Z: Broly the Legendary Super Saiyan and in honor of it I wanted to let people know who certain characters in Dragon Ball, by which I mean, the characters they were inspired by in the original work Journey to the West. I will go in order of appearance.
Son Goku - obviously named after the Monkey King who had the exact same name in the Japanese translation. Goku has a tail and changes into a giant ape as homage to his namesake, and also his power pole and flying nimbus were also used by the Monkey King. Both Gokus are known for challenging stronger opponents to prove their own worth with an abundance of confidence.
Bulma - since Bulma takes Goku away from the mountain to begin their adventure, she would be Sanzoh, the priest who rescues the Monkey King from a mountain prison where he was put for defying the gods. Sanzoh is a male in the original story, but was traditionally portrayed by a female on stage.
Master Roshi - as Goku's teacher, he is Subodhi, the sage who teaches the Monkey King all he knows and comes to regret it when he is surpassed by his unruly student.
Oolong - Pigsy, who like the Monkey King has to work off a karmic debt by accompanying Sanzoh, like Oolong he is introduced to the other travellers when he abducts girls from a village for his own perversions and is thwarted by the Monkey King.
Yamcha - Sandy, the last of Sanzoh's travelling companions named for the river of flowing sands where he is met. Yamcha is actually more developed than Sandy was as a character, but clearly inspired the desert bandit persona.
Chichi and Ox-King - Ox-king is the only other character beside Son Goku to actually use the same name in both stories, his daughter is Princess Iron fan and poses the task of putting out the fire surrounding his castle. There was a lesser known sequel to the Journey to the West in which the Monkey King has childen with Princess Iron Fan explaining the marriage in Dragon Ball of their respective characters.
Tien and Chiaotzu - Erlang Shen and Prince Nezha/Nata respectively, Tien's third eye was inspired by the same trait of the the chinese demigod and the prince was eternally youthful and for a short time the rival of the Monkey King.
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