Would it still be Dragon Ball with out Goku, his family, and friends?

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GamerSkull
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Re: Would it still be Dragon Ball with out Goku, his family, and friends?

Post by GamerSkull » Mon Jan 15, 2018 6:24 pm

I think that you can definitely pass the torch onto another main character and the best way to do it is to keep Goku and the others in the story, but largely in the background.

They can show up from time to time to actually help out in any battles but they shouldn't steal any of the spotlight.

This way, it still feels like Dragon Ball because you see characters from that world. The only difference is the main character having more to do in the spotlight than Goku or Vegeta.

So it can be executed successfully if enough effort is made.
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ulisa
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Re: Would it still be Dragon Ball with out Goku, his family, and friends?

Post by ulisa » Mon Jan 15, 2018 9:55 pm

Is it possible? I say yes but I also say that it's a very hard thing to do. I am of the opinion that you always need _one_, minimum, original character from the series to remain. Even if they're background characters, support characters, that connection to the original cast needs to be there and truthfully, if there is a direct line, such as the new lead being a descendant, that seems to work pretty well, at least in theory. The trick seems to be making sure they have enough similarities to the old cast without making them carbon copies.

Personally, I felt the way they were going, with Gohan taking over the main role, would have been the best way to go about it but then, I think the fans will always argue about whether his characterization was spot on or totally off in the Cell Games and onward. That's a different issue though. I don't think the idea of having him take over as lead was a bad one, I just don't think it was executed well which is why it fell through.

Bottom line, anytime you change out a main character, regardless of how much it has been built up or worked towards, you will inevitably lose fans over it. I don't view that as a sign that changing leads can't be done though because fans come and go for all kinds of reasons. The question is whether it can be done from a story telling angle and still have the story work. While, I think it would have changed a few things, I still feels like Dragonball could have survived it.

If anything, it would have been a nice way to tie the series up.
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