2019 Geek-A-Long: Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball is one of the most popular and successful anime franchises out there with its multitude of iterations and sequels in the form of various television shows, manga, and movies. A quick walk around Google will tell you that its one of the top twenty highest-grossing media franchises of all time, and I will never be able to take it seriously.

You know the story. Edgy nerd lord wants to garner the attention of a young lady trying to decide whether or not she wanted to embrace the goth girl aesthetic or the punk, skater girl look. The year was 1999, Toonami was in its heyday on Cartoon Network, and he thought the quickest way out of the friend-zone was to force her and her best friend to watch Dragon Ball Z. It was an awkward time for everyone, and I will forever associate Dragon Ball with that brand teenage angst.

Twenty years later… God, that hurts to write.

Twenty. Years. Later. I am married to a different nerd, who also happens to bow at the alter of Dragon Ball. He’s tried to get me to watch it a few times over the years, but every time I try, I start thinking about black nail polish, wide-leg pants, book reports, and whether or not Mrs. Green is going to burst into the room with a tray of cookies in an attempt to break-up romantic tension that would never exist. I swear, I can even hear the sounds of my old friend’s brothers snickering in the hallway.

So, if you’ve never had the pleasure of watching one of the many iterations of Dragon Ball, here is what I’ve learned about it over the years. It is an over the top and action-packed show with epic fights. I swear to you, I remember an entire episode that was just Goku powering up for a kamehameah that involved way to much loud grunting.

Actually, now that I think about it, maybe that was why Mrs. Green was always bursting into the family room.

The franchise follows Goku from childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts, defeats progressively more powerful villains, and searches the world for seven orbs known only as the Dragon Balls. Spoilers, they summon a wish-granting dragon when gathered together, and it is what we have chosen to immortalize in yarn on the 2019 Geek-A-Long blanket.

Whether you’re knitting, crocheting, or cross stitching this square, you can download the Dragon Ball pattern here. Instructions and charts for both knit and crochet are listed in the pattern. When you’re finished making it, don’t forget to Instagram your squares at us @lattesandllamasyarn with the hashtag #geekalong! Want to hang out with other people making the blanket? You can find moral support in the Geek-A-Long group on Ravelry here.

~Jac

“You’ll laugh at your fears when you find out who you are.” – Piccolo

If you enjoyed this post, please consider making a donation to Child’s Play Charity. Here is a direct link to our official donation page benefiting the charity. Please help us raise $1,000 this year. No contribution is too small! Wanna make your donation go even further? Lattes & Llamas will donate $1 for every skein of Geek-A-Long Yarn purchased.