Lightdasher wrote:This topic kinda' branched from the intended path, huh?
Giving my two cents on the Goku talk, I will say that I don't think his character has really changed from Z to Super. At least.., not in the main scheme of things. I do think, for Super's anime, he seems much more ignorant generally. I'm sure it's done for comedic effect usually, but it's jarring to me. Still, if its target audience likes it, it's hard for me to be against that. I do appreciate that, from what I've seen, the manga portrays him more modestly in this regard; he's aware that he's not the smartest guy around, but he doesn't appear to be a super powerful avatar of the typical class dunce outside of martial arts. I prefer this portrayal because, while Goku hasn't changed much from DB to Super (something I actually prefer.., not every character needs dense development, right?), it's easier to believe that this manga's Goku carries with him all his past experience and knowledge. Meanwhile, the anime's Goku often seems like the clueless Goku from Dragon Ball again, as though he's regressed; it was way understandable back then of any wild boy growing in the woods to be as such, now it seems his adult iteration lacks the mental capacity to retain understanding of matters unrelated to fighting that he's likely already learned. Please do correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't feel Goku's an idiot, so it's a bit bothersome to see him portrayed as one completely.
That said, he has been shown to be pretty selfish for the sake of fighting, even in Z. These examples have already been given, but I don't think we should just gloss over them. Perhaps him taking inaction towards Trunks' premonition of the androids was very similar to him being the cause of the ToP against the warnings of Lord Beerus, even if the magnitude for the stakes are on different scales. Personally, I'm fine with Goku being this way; it's just him being himself and being very enticed for a fight, even if it could lead to his downfall. I think it's my own human empathy that finds disgust in the likes of Goku and Vegeta endangering everyone for their own fight lust, but I enjoy it as a unique saiyan trait even more; it feels outstanding that this warrior race would take the joy of fighting to such extremes.
In response to the original idea presented.. As a Goten fan, I can definitely see where you're coming from, and those words are nice, coming from someone that has already gotten their fan-service. It feels charming, in a "I was able to receive this joy, and I know there are others out there who would like the same joy, so please spread it!" sort of way. I honestly haven't seen much of the Dragon Ball fandom.., Kanzenshuu is the first example where I've been around so many Dragon Ball fans, and I've not even been here very long, so I don't know what the various fans are like really. Because of this, I can't comment on Goku's fans possibly not wanting his spotlight taken away. I haven't even seen all of Super, so scenes like Krillin's contribution within the ToP are blanks to me. However, if there's one thing I do appreciate Super for, it's that we seem to all been given something of a bone, no matter how small (unless you're a fan of, like, Baba or something). You could call me too content or eagerly settled, but I got to see a not-even-one-minute scene of Goten training with Trunks that I love, and I'll gladly take it, along with the other scenes. I understand that most characters aren't really what drive the show, so I think it's fair for me to be content like this. Afterall, surely more Cabba/#18/Vegeta/Vegito/Goten/Whis/etc exposure would jive certain other fans the wrong way (I definitely know of another Goten fan that was probably opening champagne to follow Kefla's fusees getting blasted into the stands), so maybe it's better to just enjoy what we do get of our characters and see how the writers choose to direct the overall story.
Ha ha yeah this topic kinda strayed, and as much as I like to discuss the issue of Goku, I'd like to go back on my original post.
You're right, Goten is just one of those characters who barely had any development throughout the whole show.
Even though he's not my favourite character I'd love to see him getting a more important role in the future.
What I meant by selfish fandom is when that when people say "I don't like to see that particular character getting any screentime at all" which annoys me with how selfish they are.
For instance, as a future Trunks fan I was very happy with his arc.
And then you have some people saying, "I wish he'd stayed away because he''ll take up precious screentime from
MY favourite character".
I'm not like that, and can appreciate any character in the show even though they're not my favourite.
I don't mind seeing Goten or Piccolo having their own arc sometime in the future.
Future Trunks had one, why not them?
And of course Goku can still be the main character.