Special Program Information

Synopsis

It is a beautiful day in Japan, and a huge audience has gathered to witness “The First Strongest Hero Fighting Tournament”. Masaharu Miyake is ready to begin the tournament, but is waiting for a special guest to arrive, when all of a sudden Miyake spots something off in the distance. Son Goku appears riding on Kinto-Un and he jumps off, landing in the arena. After a quick jab and a kick, he is ready to take on all his strong opponents. Miyake tells Goku that he has been brought in to commentate, not fight. Goku is disappointed, but decides that is fine with him, as long as there are strong people in the tournament.

First Match: Musashibo Benkei vs Himiko

Musashibo Benkei enters the ring, and Goku cannot believe how big he is. His opponent will be Himiko, queen of The Yama Kingdom. The match begins and Benkei attacks first, with his “1,000 Sword Snatch Slash”. He hurls the 1,000 swords at Himiko, who counters with her “1,000 Servants”. The servants fend off the 1,000 swords, but Benkei sends the servants flying with his “Rock Crack: Strong Arm Slap”. Himiko is defenseless, and Benkei shoots her with a beam, knocking her unconscious. Miyake declares Benkei the winner of the first match.

Second Match: Shōtoku Taishi vs Amakusa Shirō

Shōtoku Taishi enters the ring and Goku notes that he is the guy on the Japanese money. The much younger Amakusa Shirō makes his way to the ring, and the match begins. Amakusa begins mocking Shōtoku-sama as a genius, telling him that he will win because he is smarter. He begins speaking in other languages, saying that only he can understand words he has never heard before, unlike Shōtoku-sama. Shōtoku’s ears suddenly become very large, which allows him to listen to peoples’ conversations from around the world and understand them.

The two face off again, but this time with a battle of might, rather than whit. Amakusa uses his Kaijō Sōkō to run on the sea as if it was land, but Shōtoku uses Kūchū Hikō to fly and catch up with him on the water. Shōtoku lands on top of Amakusa, and drowns him in the sea. Miyake declares Shōtoku the winner of the second match.

Goku cannot believe how strong all of the contestants are, and thinks that Piccolo and Vegeta would probably have a tough time fighting them. Miyake asks Goku about the Dragon Ball DVDs coming out this month, but Goku had forgotten about that. He grabs the microphone and gives a quick plug for the Dragon Ball DVD individual discs. “Please buy them!”

Final Match: Musashibo Benkei vs Shōtoku Taishi

Musashibo Benkei and Shōtoku Taishi, the winners of the first two matches, enter the ring. Benkei pulls out a naginata and begins swinging it at Shōtoku but cannot manage to land a blow. Goku is impressed at how fast Shōtoku-sama is moving to dodge Benkei’s attacks. Shōtoku is glad he is impressed, and says he is using Shunkan Idō (teleportation). Benkei senses where Shōtoku will appear again and hits a rock in that direction, which hits him as he re-appears. Benkei takes the opportunity to use his “Rock Breaking Hip Drop”, and lands right on top of Shōtoku.

Benkei gets up and they check to see if Shōtoku is unconscious, but then Goku hears something. The noise gets louder, and everyone realizes that it is Shōtoku laughing. Benkei does not know what is going on, since Shōtoku’s body is not even moving. Shōtoku-sama appears, having used his “Spirit Ball Evasion” to evade Benkei’s hip drop attack. Benkei cannot believe it and he tries to hit Shōtoku, but instead gets hit in the shin himself. Benkei starts hopping around in pain, then suddenly stops moving. Benkei dies standing up, and Shōtoku is declared the champion.

Champion: Shōtoku Taishi

Characters

Commentators

Ringside Announcer

Masaharu Miyake (三宅正治)

Voice Actor:

Masaharu Miyake (Himself)

Miyake-san is a sports announcer for the Fuji Television Network. He is typically a commentator for such sports as baseball, martial arts, Formula One, and volleyball.

Guest Commentator

Son Goku (孫 悟空)

Voice Actor:

Masako Nozawa / 野沢雅子

Son Goku returns to Fuji TV as a guest commentator for the 2007 Japan Hero Awards. He was under the impression that he would be competing, but is more than willing to assume his role as a commentator high above the ring on Kinto-Un. Halfway through the broadcast, Goku takes the opportunity to plug the sale of the “Dragon Ball DVD Individual Discs“.

Historical Figures

Saito Musashibo Benkei (西塔武蔵坊弁慶)

Lived:	1155 – 1189 AD
Voice Actor:	Ryūzaburō Ōtomo / 大友龍三郎

Saito Musashibo Benkei was a legendary sohei (warrior monk) who served Minamoto no Yoshitsune. He is often simply referred to as “Benkei” or “Musashibo Benkei”, or by the title of “Yoshitsune’s Right Arm”. He was said to be a large man, taller than 2m (~6.5 ft), which was unbelievably large for a Japanese person at the time. During his youth he joined the Yamabushi, a group of mountain monks, but eventually left to become a robber. Legend states he posted himself on the Gojo bridge in Kyoto to challenge pedestrians and rob them of their swords. On his 1000th duel, Benkei was defeated by Minamoto no Yoshitsune, a son of the warlord Minamoto no Yoshitomo. Following his defeat, Benkei became the first follower of Minamoto no Yoshitsune.

Himiko (卑弥呼)

Lived:	175 – 248 AD
Voice Actor:	Miki Itō / 伊藤美紀

Himiko was the female ruler of an early pre-Japan political region known as Wa, which was believed to have existed either in the Yamato region or northern Kyushu of modern-day Japan. Many Japanese texts omit her from their history, but she is mentioned in both Chinese and Korean histories. The first historical record of Himiko are found in a Chinese classic text, the “Records of Three Kingdoms”, which provides details of the relations between Queen Himiko and the Cao Wei Kingdom, and Himiko’s rise to the throne.

Shōtoku Taishi (聖徳太子)

Lived:	573 – 621 AD
Voice Actor:	Bin Shimada / 島田　敏

Shōtoku Taishi was a Japanese ruler, who is largely credited with the introduction of Buddhism and the Chinese-style political and legal organization to Japan. His legendary wisdom and far-sightedness, as well as peaceful foreign policy with Japan’s neighbors has kept him in high esteem. As reference in the special program, his likeness can be found on Japanese ¥10,000 banknotes, the highest denomination banknote.

Amakusa Shirō (天草四郎)

Lived:	1621 – 1638 AD
Voice Actor:	Takeshi Kusao / 草尾　毅

Amakusa Shirō was a leader of the Shimabara Rebellion, a failed uprising of mostly-Christian peasants against the Tokugawa Shogunate. Amakusa led the defense of Hara Castle, but died when it fell. His head was displayed on a pike in Nagasaki for a very long time afterward as a warning to any other potential Christian rebels.

Notes

Program Notes

• This historical special program was originally listed as follows on the Fuji TV website:
  

  This program is a historic ceremony which profiles the achievements and unexpected truths about the heroes from throughout Japanese history, selecting the MVPs from amongst a total of ten awards such as the “‘Legendary Strongest Hero’ Award”, the “‘This is How History Really Was’ Award”, the “‘History’s Strongest Demon Bride’ Award”, the “‘Passionate Love Letters Written by a Hero’ Award”, and others.

  Heroes wearing special makeup cast at the studio a month before appear, and their resemblance to the real thing is a real highlight! The heroes nominated in each area are introduced through drama and variety pieces.

  – Fuji TV (Source)

• The animated special described above, featuring Goku as a guest commentator, is actually a small part of a much larger three hour historical special program entitled, “Japan Hero Awards 2007: The Super-Great People Who Changed History Special”. The program is comprised of numerous fictitious awards that highlight the various aspects of Japan’s history. The majority of the program was not animated, but rather done with actors in historical costume, as is shown throughout this animated portion.
• Listed below is a rundown of the entire special program as it aired on Fuji TV (the segments highlighted are those detailed in the synopsis above):
  • 19:57:00 – Studio Talk: Part 1 (スタジオトーク·1)
  • 19:57:33 – Buzzer Written Supplement (早押しサプリ文字)
  • 20:00:01 – IQ Mirror Mistake 7 (IQミラーまちがい7)
  • 20:04:22 – Opening (オープニング)
  • 20:07:24 – Studio Talk: Part 2 (スタジオトーク·2)
  • 20:08:59 – “Legendary Strongest Hero” Award: Part 1 (伝説の最強偉人賞·1)
  • 20:19:07 – Commercial Break
  • 20:20:37 – “Legendary Strongest Hero” Award: Part 2 (伝説の最強偉人賞·2)
  • 20:23:10 – “This is How History Really Was” Award: Part 1 (本当の歴史はこうだった賞·1)
  • 20:24:51 – Commercial Break
  • 20:26:21 – “This is How History Really Was” Award: Part 2 (本当の歴史はこうだった賞·2)
  • 20:30:59 – Commercial Break
  • 20:32:29 – “This is How History Really Was” Award: Part 3 (本当の歴史はこうだった賞·3)
  • 20:36:01 – Commercial Break
  • 20:37:31 – “This is How History Really Was” Award: Part 4 (本当の歴史はこうだった賞·4)
  • 20:39:45 – “History’s Strongest Demon Bride” Award: Part 1 (史上最悪の鬼嫁賞·1)
  • 20:46:17 – Commercial Break
  • 20:48:17 – “History’s Strongest Demon Bride” Award: Part 2 (史上最悪の鬼嫁賞·2)
  • 20:56:44 – Japan Hero Awards 2007 Fashion Show (日本偉人大賞2007ファッションショー)
  • 21:02:33 – “Tragic Heroine” Award: Part 1 (悲劇のヒロイン賞·1)
  • 21:05:00 – Commercial Break
  • 21:07:00 – “Tragic Heroine” Award: Part 2 (悲劇のヒロイン賞·2)
  • 21:16:50 – Commercial Break
  • 21:17:50 – News (ニュース)
  • 21:19:15 – Commercial Break
  • 21:20:15 – Weather (気象情報)
  • 21:20:50 – “Tragic Heroine” Award: Part 3 (悲劇のヒロイン賞·3)
  • 21:28:48 – Commercial Break
  • 21:30:48 – “Tragic Heroine” Award: Part 4 (悲劇のヒロイン賞·4)
  • 21:36:44 – Order the Health Foods the Heroes Loved: Part 1 (偉人の愛した健康食お取り寄せ·1)
  • 21:40:14 – Commercial Break
  • 21:42:14 – Order the Health Foods the Heroes Loved: Part 2 (偉人の愛した健康食お取り寄せ·2)
  • 21:45:50 – “A Great Reversal! Genius of Battle” Award: Part 1 (大逆転!戦の天才賞·1)
  • 21:49:54 – Commercial Break
  • 21:51:54 – “A Great Reversal! Genius of Battle” Award: Part 2 (大逆転!戦の天才賞·2)
  • 22:02:08 – “Lost in the Darkness of History” Mystery Award: Part 1 (歴史の闇に消えたミステリー賞·1)
  • 22:10:36 – Commercial Break
  • 22:12:36 – “Lost in the Darkness of History” Mystery Award: Part 2 (歴史の闇に消えたミステリー賞·2)
  • 22:15:31 – “Lady-Killers Who Were Crazy About Women” Award: Part 1 (女性にだらしなかった色男賞·1)
  • 22:17:26 – Commercial Break
  • 22:19:26 – “Lady-Killers Who Were Crazy About Women” Award: Part 2 (女性にだらしなかった色男賞·2)
  • 22:24:47 – Commercial Break
  • 22:26:47 – “Lady-Killers Who Were Crazy About Women” Award: Part 3 (女性にだらしなかった色男賞·3)
  • 22:31:33 – “Be Amazed! Miracle Strategy” Award: Part 1 (仰天!ミラクル戦術賞·1)
  • 22:33:59 – Commercial Break
  • 22:35:59 – “Be Amazed! Miracle Strategy” Award: Part 2 (仰天!ミラクル戦術賞·2)
  • 22:40:15 – Commercial Break
  • 22:42:15 – “Be Amazed! Miracle Strategy” Award: Part 3 (仰天!ミラクル戦術賞·3)
  • 22:47:11 – Commercial Break
  • 22:49:41 – “Be Amazed! Miracle Strategy” Award: Part 4 (仰天!ミラクル戦術賞·4)
  • 22:51:07 – “Passionate Love Letters Written by a Hero” Award (偉人が書いた情熱ラブレター賞)
  • 23:03:25 – Japan Hero Awards MVP (日本偉人大賞MVP)
  • 23:06:05 – Next Weeks Broadcast (次週放送予定)
  • 23:06:35 – Commercial Break

Reference Notes

• “The First Strongest Hero Fighting Tournament” (第一回最強偉人闘技会) is based on the “Tenka’ichi Budōkai” (天下一武道会) from the Dragon Ball series. Son Goku even appears as a special guest and wants to fight, but is told he is only there to watch.
• The Tenka’ichi Budōkai announcer makes an appearance in the special, but unfortunately has no speaking lines. He instead uses hand gestures to relay calls to Masaharu Miyake.
• At the end of the final match, Musashibo Benkei dies standing up. This is based on the story of his actual death. It is said that Benkei was fighting on a bridge in front of the main gate to a castle, protecting Yoshitsune. Long after the battle should have been over, the soldiers noticed that Benkei was standing still. When the soldiers finally dared to cross the bridge and take a closer look, Benkei fell to the ground, having died in a standing position. This is known as the “Standing Death of Benkei”.

Technique/Attack Notes

The techniques and attacks used throughout this historical special are based on Japanese legend and mythology. The special refers to them as “superhuman moves”, which are outlined below:

• 1,000 Sword Snatch Slash (User: Saito Musashibo Benkei)
  Legend states that Musashibo Benkei posted himself on the Gojo bridge in Kyoto, to challenge pedestrians and rob them of their sword. By the time Minamoto no Yoshitsune, a military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan, appeared at the bridge, Benkei had stolen 999 swords. Benkei challenged Yoshitsune, but was swiftly defeated. In the special, Benkei uses these stolen swords and hurls them at his opponent.
• Monarch Power: 1,000 Servants (User: Himiko)
  According to historical documents, Queen Himiko kept 1,000 female servants, even though very few people saw her. Himiko calls forth these 1,000 servants in the special to defeat Benkei’s “1,000 Sword Snatch Slash”.
• Rock Crack: Strong Arm Slap (User: Saito Musashibo Benkei)
  There is a rock that is said to have the impression of Benkei’s hand, which was left after he hit the rock. In the special, Benkei slaps the ground, causing debris to fly at Himiko and her 1,000 servants.
• Understanding Languages Never Seen or Heard (User: Amakusa Shirō)
  Amakusa’s ability to understand languages he had never seen or heard before is a stereotypical ability attributed to Christian converts at the time.
• 12-People-at-the-Same-Time Listening (User: Shōtoku Taishi)
  As legend says, Shōtoku-sama could follow the separate conversations of 12 people talking at once.
• Kaijō Sōkō: Running on the Sea (User: Amakusa Shirō)
  Amakusa’s ability to walk on water is yet another stereotypical ability attributed to most Christian converts.
• Kūchū Hikō: Flying Through the Sky (User: Shōtoku Taishi)
  As stated by myth, Shōtoku Taishi was said to have the ability to hover a couple of meters above the ground.
• Cut Steel: Naginata Spin (User: Saito Musashibo Benkei)
  Benkei was known to be very skilled with the naginata, a traditional Japanese weapon consisting of a wooded shaft with a curved blade on the end.
• Shunkan Idō: Teleportation (User: Shōtoku Taishi)
  At the time, it was believed that Shōtoku Taishi could move so fast, no one could see him.
• Rock Breaking Hip Drop (User: Saito Musashibo Benkei)
  This attack is in reference to a rock that is said to have the impression of Benkei’s buttocks.
• Tamayura: Spirit Ball Evasion (User: Shōtoku Taishi)
  According to myth, Shōtoku Taishi was said to have had the ability to separate his spirit from his body and fly around.

Production Notes

• The animation of this special program is different than that of a typical Dragon Ball production, as it was overseen by Fuji TV rather than Toei Animation, although Toei did produce the animation.
• All of the historical figures portrayed in the special program are voiced by actors from the Dragon Ball TV series.

Staff Credits

Overall Program

Animated Segment