Dragon Ball/Z/Super TV Show • Page 59

I also never realized until a few years ago (again) that Ocean/Saban/whatever ended up doing the rest of the series later on for purposes of European distribution.

I always thought Funimation just more or less continued the series with different voice actors (and re-dubbed the Saiyan saga years later), but they actually ended up being two entirely different dubs by the end. Hearing Vegeta's original VA all the way in the Buu saga was bizarre because I obviously never saw that cast beyond the Ginyu saga.

 

And even before there was a different team that did the first 13 episodes of the original Dragon Ball. It was so hard back in the day trying to collect the DVD's.

 

It’s 100% not canon, never added to the manga canon. It’s pure filler. It was made in Japan and aired there first. It’s a follow up to the Dead Zone movie which, along with all the DBZ movies up to Battle of Gods, are not canon. As far as what’s official, Garlic Jr never happens.

Yea, she is with Tien when he is asked to go train with Kami. Then during the actual fights with Nappa, after Tien is killed, they show her like 10 drinks in at a bar because she thinks it’s the end of the world.

I believe the anime brings her back during the end of the Buu saga for when they cut to people across the earth. Apparently, when asked about what happened to her, Toriyama said he basically just forgot about her and that’s why she never actually came back.

 

I think about that a lot when people get way into the lore or the fictional universe of a piece of fiction. In any big fandom there are a lot of fans who know more about the lore than the creator remembers, but the creator is the one that knows what is important and what is just a backdrop. It is something more people should think about.

 

Totally. I feel like we see all the time people build up characters as fan favorites and they’re just meant to be some minor character.

Up until last year, all I had seen was all of DBZ. While I did see Launch in those couple brief appearances in DBZ, I didn’t remember her or know anything about her. Having just watched the OG for the first time, I wondered what happened to her (thinking she wasn’t in DBZ at all). It makes sense she wasn’t forgotten. Her sneezing and changing was kind of funny. But all I really remember her doing was cooking and housekeeping as nice Launch and just shooting her gun in the air as “bad” Launch. With all the other characters who did go on to stay in DBZ, it’s easy for her to just fade away.

 

Launch wasn’t even a notable side character in the original DB like Oolong or whoever. She was like a one-off joke character that was quickly relegated to just being in the background

 

I remember starting to watch the show when it was Goku vs. Frieza and just how dense the characters were. You had the two fighting, the people watching, the people in Heaven watching, and then the people on Earth.

As far as characters getting pushed aside I was always sad that Vegeta always remained as the top rival even when earlier ones like Piccolo or Tien faded away.

 

The original Dragonball doesn’t get enough credit for how bizarre it is. There’s no attempt to craft any sort of internal consistency to the world. There are dinosaurs and magic and a literal afterlife/underworld, but also modern weaponry and futuristic cities and flying cars, yet those things never interact with each other

And Goku turning into the great ape was never given an in-world explanation until DBZ. Before that he’s just a werewolf monkey

 

Yea, the OG is pretty wild. There were a lot of guns that were basically all useless.

Goku doing a ball tap to everyone to see if they’re a boy or girl, after removing Bulma’s underwear while she slept and was shocked by her vagina. Him telling her that her balls were missing and her thinking he meant dragon balls and not testicles. Her not realizing her underwear was gone and flashing Roshi later somehow still not noticing. and she was 16 at that time. Really made the Roshi stuff worse. Obviously, very different times back when it was made.

 

Also, it was sort of interesting to learn Roshi and Baba are siblings. I guess she wasn’t in much of DBZ, but that aspect never came up when she did.

 

The Bulma/Roshi punchline to that bit is gross and obviously aged poorly, but honestly Goku doing the crotch tap to like every other person he comes across is genuinely hilarious. I had no idea it was a recurring bit until I watched the whole thing through a few years ago and it killed me every time. It’s *so* innocent that nobody even once thinks to explain to him *why* he shouldn’t do it / what he should do instead

 

Oh yea, I didn’t mean to imply that bit was as bad as the Roshi stuff. It is very funny and shows how deeply innocent he was from growing up in isolation. He legit doesn’t know better.

 

And even though I dislike how Super made Goku arguably even stupider than he was in DB, there is the one funny moment which feels like a follow-up of the crotch tap bit, where Goku has no idea what kissing is and Vegeta is like “but you’re married and have children…….”

 

Haha I was JUST thinking of that. I think Chichi has kissed him on the cheek, but I think that’s it. Goku is made dumber in Super, for sure. But in a way he’s a bit more like he is in DB. DBZ had him be a littler more intelligent. Or maybe just a little more serious. He got goofier in Super.

 

I’m watching the Garlic Jr saga now. It’s not as bad as I remember. It’s not great, but I kind of like seeing Gohan being “on his own” for a bit there or even when it was just him and Krillin.

It’s funny, I never realized Krillin’s girlfriend is Maron and his daughter is Marron. Knowing now that different people wrote those characters and just happened to choose almost the exact same name.

 

I think he’s arguably more stupid in Super than DB. In DB, his stupidity is just due to his complete ignorance of the world, but when it comes to fighting or interpersonal relationships or saving his friends, he understands it intuitively and can get quite serious.

In DBZ I don’t really recall him being stupid at all. He’s light-hearted but very mature especially when fighting someone, and his only big flaw is that he takes the “warrior’s honor” stuff so seriously that he lets enemies take advantage of him

But in Super all of that goes out the window and literally all he cares about is training and fighting, and he has no excuse for being so dumb and reckless as an adult. Like he’s probably closest to Luffy from One Piece in this version in that his stupidity is just being single-minded to the point that he constantly puts his loved ones in danger, Except Luffy has the emotional intelligence / seriousness of DB Goku to counterbalance that

 

My main complaint about Super is that it almost just feels like the Goku & Vegeta show. You have exceptions like the super hero arc and the tournament of power, but other than that the other characters are almost non existent

 

Dude originally thought marriage was something you eat. Remember that.

 

That's why the Cell arc is the end of the best part of the show. At different points in the saga you have Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks, and even Piccolo as the strongest fighter. Tien gets a chance to shine. Even people like Krillin and Yamcha get their moments at the end. It still felt like a team.

 

That’s true.

The next time it comes close to anything like it is the tournament of all the universes at the end of Super. Everybody on the team gets at least one moment to shine. Even getting to give Roshi some good moments. I think the last time he actually fought was with Tien in the 4th season of DB. May be forgetting something, but that’s the last fight I remember him in off the top of my head. Even Frieza has positive moments and was an essential teammate.

 

Hopefully the rest of Super allows more room. Goten, Trunks, Piccolo, and Gohan had a good amount of spotlight in the super hero manga arc. The next chapter in the manga that releases in April will also focus on Goten and Trunks again. I know they have to deal with Black Frieza at some point so hopefully that arc continues to use characters like the ones mentioned above, plus Broly, at least, instead of just Goku and Vegeta.

The Moro arc also used some of the Z fighters but it still wasn’t anything like Z. I agree that the Android/Cell saga was the last really great arc. Since then it’s been good to okay to disappointing.

Great arcs:
Cell/Android
Saiyan/Vegeta

Good arcs:
Namek/Frieza
Moro
Super hero

Okay arcs:
Buu
Goku Black (manga version)
Tournament of Power

Throw it in the trash arcs:
Granola

 

Namek arc is definitely the best. Even before Goku v. Frieza which is arguably the best major fight in the series, there was a genuine tension of the race against time to find the dragonballs before Frieza does + how long it would take Goku to arrive, plus the uneasy alliance with Vegeta

The Android / Cell saga suffers by switching main antagonists halfway through. And by having Cell wanting to fight just for the sake of showing his strength rather than any sort of long-term goal like ruling the universe.

 

The Frieza arc in story is good, but the fight between Goku and Frieza overstays its welcome and holds it back. If that fight was even trimmed down by half it would easily push it to a great arc for me, but in its full state it’s held back.

 

Namek saga rules - the entire game of who has which Dragonballs, and the food chain of Gohan/Krillin to Vegeta to Frieza is a fun dynamic

Androids/Cell is probably my favorite though. I love how the villians care less about power than they do about simply being the apex predator. The mystery surrounding Trunks’ arrival and how it changes so many things we expect to happen based on his predictions is really cool. The second time capsule and Cell showing up has a real horror vibe that is both unique and fits seamlessly into the story. And finally getting that payoff with Gohan that the show teased since it was in its single digit episodes

 

Saiyan saga has always been great to me. I really like the impending doom and dread that saga had.