Why do people hate main characters?

[precita]

I've seen countless people say they hate Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Goten, Trunks, etc.

Now obviously you don't have to like every character, or not like a character in one saga due to their portrayal compared to another, but how do you hate important characters and still watch the show? These are characters the show devotes the most screentime too, so I would find it odd to watch the show and have frothing hatred for characters and what they do.

[Doctor.]

What does hating Gohan (or Vegeta, Goten and Trunks) have anything to do with your enjoyment of the show? He's irrelevant. You'd only start having an issue with the show if you hated Goku, because that's who takes the most amount of screen-time, and still, there are other characters there you can enjoy, plus the action, if you don't like the main character.

[precita]

Because Goku sits out a large chunk of DBZ where he does nothing and the other characters get the spotlight. Gohan and Vegeta get probably more screentime in DBZ as a whole over Goku.

[Doctor.]

But Goku still gets the most amount of screentime in the entire series. So why do Gohan and Vegeta matter? They have a lot of screentime, but they're only at the center of the stage for a short amount of time, most of the time they're not. I hate Gohan, and that doesn't affect my enjoyment of the series.

[Gyt Kaliba]

It's definitely possible to like a series and not be that crazy about the lead character. Heck, it's pretty rare for the lead of anything to be my favorite actually - usually they become so overburdened by carrying the crux of the plot that, no matter how much fun they might be, I generally find more value out of the supporting characters. It's not always the case, but it does happen often enough for me to notice the trend.

As far as Dragon Ball goes, I don't hate Goku at all. He's a fun, engaging character, albeit an exasperating one at times. You can have the Dragon Ball world without him, but you can't really have core Dragon Ball without him. They're too much a part of each other. Vegeta though does drive me up a wall often enough, especially going back to the older days. I don't think I noticed it when I was a kid, but now I look back at all the times where he caused far more trouble than he was worth (often in service of the plot, but still), and I can't help but wonder how despite that he ever got labeled as a 'badass'. Especially not when most of his best fights are complete curbstomps, and the rest are him getting his butt handed back to him.

As far as the halflings go, I don't really dislike Gohan so much as I dislike the way fandom chooses to look at him. Never really cared much one way or the other on Goten and Trunks, though I do now wish that Goten got more stand out moments that weren't just complimenting Trunks as a character.

[Basaku]

It's definitely possible to like a series and not be that crazy about the lead character. Heck, it's pretty rare for the lead of anything to be my favorite actually - usually they become so overburdened by carrying the crux of the plot that, no matter how much fun they might be, I generally find more value out of the supporting characters. It's not always the case, but it does happen often enough for me to notice the trend.

Very true. Pretty much why often the breakout characters from new properties are not the leads (Donkey from Shrek, Jack Sparrow from Pirates of The Carribean, bunch of Disney villains like Ursula, Maleficent, etc)

[Doctor.]

I think Dragon Ball is the kind of series where you can get away with not liking one or two major characters, because there are multiple major characters. Whereas, for example, if you dislike Batman, that's it, you'll probably won't enjoy any Batman-related material.

[EXBadguy]

I've never seen people here hating the main Goku and Vegeta. I think people just hate the amount of screentime certain characters get, not the characters. The Buu saga and GT as a whole are examples.

[MozillaVulpix]

Sometimes, one main character will interrupt the screentime of another character. Goku is the most obvious, and sometimes it feels like Gohan and Vegeta are on opposite ends of a 'relevance scale' - that is, when one is important to the plot, the other isn't. If you only like one character, you generally dislike the character who takes their screentime.

[Xeztin]

As far as Dragon Ball in general goes I think it's just because most people grew up with Kuririn, Yamcha, Tien etc... These were really important characters once upon a time and they more or less have been forgotten about. Imagine One Piece where Luffy basically becomes so strong that everyone in his crew including Zoro become like Kuririn and Yamcha. See what I mean? If we basically went through the Grand line thinking the Straw Hats are the strongest crew ever and suddenly everyone becomes useless except Luffy then I'd assume people would become angry that their favorite character is no longer relevant. Most people would rather die than insult the mangaka gods so they basically blame the lead character for making everyone else useless. If Toriyama kept the entire cast relevant like Oda has with One Piece so far, I really wonder what DBZ/Super would be like. The only hope a Yamcha fan has of taking out a big baddie all on his own in the new material is if the franchise got a total reboot. I also think this is why everyone loves the Cell saga so much and says it should have been the ending as it was the last good saga until literally everyone but Vegeta and Goku got the shaft. I hope everyone In Super get's a turn around though because you can see it happening with Gohan already, Krillin chose to shave his head and fight again, and Piccolo died and in the manga

Spoiler:

(Is brought back to life)

. In my opinion there is somewhat of a buildup going on.

[Vijay]

Guess they hate DBZ conclusively.

Like I hate Gohan. Still felt his SSJ2 transformation & final KHH clash in Cell Saga to be glorious as fuck

I LOVE Goku most. Still, his segments in Mid Buu Arc (teachin Fusion Dance, fightin Fat Buu, setting-up deal with Old Kai & watchin Gotenks/Ultimate Gohan vs Super Buu) to be his most "unlikable, stoic moments" in da series.

Its matter of preference

I consider Kuririn, Yamucha, Muten Roshi & a bunch of "original" DB casts to be fun & likable despite being utterly useless.

But Beerus is special case. I f**kin hate this rotten piece *%$¥€€§¤ which made me to hate BOG & Supa completly

[Chuquita]

I think it depends on how much screen-time the disliked character gets. One of the major reasons I dropped Naruto was because I disliked Sasuke and he was everywhere in that series.
There isn't really anyone who's a big main character in Dragon Ball that I also dislike. There's side-characters I am neutral towards or dislike, but none of the main ones.

[LightBing]

I don't understand how people can hate something that passively affects and which they partially control. Hate is a strong emotion, I guess dislike is the most common feeling.

To answer the thread question, some part of it is about choosing sides. For example in RoF, there were various people disappointed that Goku "stole" the kill from Vegeta. Some people just want to see their favorite character get the "edge" and instead of just being disappoint, they get revolted and angry. Because their expectations and desires aren't meet. People enjoy bringing characters up and bringing others down. It's like sports, rooting for a team, while having an excuse to hate the opposition.

It works in Dragon Ball because it's somewhat of an ensemble show, starting with the Saiyan Arc. While Goku has always the most impact, everybody else more or less plays a part.

[Kuririn Fan]

I hate Gohan, and i'm still a huge Dragon Ball fan obviously, it didn't affect anything. Still love Kuririn, Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Future Trunks, Muten Roshi, Tenshinhan and pretty much every other character. One shitty character won't make me any less of a fanboy, there's still so much to like.

[precita]

What exactly makes you hate Gohan in every incarnation? I would find it rather difficult to watch DBZ since most of the series centers around him.

[Kuririn Fan]

What exactly makes you hate Gohan in every incarnation? I would find it rather difficult to watch DBZ since most of the series centers around him.

I don't hate his every incarnation, i like Great Saiyaman, and it isn't difficult to watch DBZ at all. I mostly disliked the whole "passing the torch" bullshit, it was so forced and stupid and it didnt felt right at all.

[ABED]

you generally dislike the character who takes their screentime.

But they didn't "take their screentime". It wasn't their's.

Very true. Pretty much why often the breakout characters from new properties are not the leads (Donkey from Shrek, Jack Sparrow from Pirates of The Carribean, bunch of Disney villains like Ursula, Maleficent, etc)

That's arguable. Sparrow isn't the breakout character, he's not someone like Spike or Castiel or The Fonz. He was the focal point of the marketing and is ultimately the lead of the franchise.

It's definitely possible to like a series and not be that crazy about the lead character.

Agreed, there are plenty of shows where I like another character more than the lead, but that doesn't mean the show is better off without the lead. That's the anchor. Happy Days was terrible without Richie. I can't think of a show I like where I hate the lead but like the supporting cast. It's usually simply a matter of liking something more than something else.

[nickzambuto]

As far as Dragon Ball in general goes I think it's just because most people grew up with Kuririn, Yamcha, Tenshinhan etc... These were really important characters once upon a time and they more or less have been forgotten about. Imagine One Piece where Luffy basically becomes so strong that everyone in his crew including Zoro become like Kuririn and Yamcha. See what I mean? If we basically went through the Grand line thinking the Straw Hats are the strongest crew ever and suddenly everyone becomes useless except Luffy then I'd assume people would become angry that their favorite character is no longer relevant. Most people would rather die than insult the mangaka gods so they basically blame the lead character for making everyone else useless. If Toriyama kept the entire cast relevant like Oda has with One Piece so far, I really wonder what DBZ/Super would be like. The only hope a Yamcha fan has of taking out a big baddie all on his own in the new material is if the franchise got a total reboot. I also think this is why everyone loves the Cell saga so much and says it should have been the ending as it was the last good saga until literally everyone but Vegeta and Goku got the shaft. I hope everyone In Super get's a turn around though because you can see it happening with Gohan already, Krillin chose to shave his head and fight again, and Piccolo died and in the manga

Spoiler:

(Is brought back to life)

. In my opinion there is somewhat of a buildup going on.

Wow man, that is such a great way to put it. It's quite a tragedy how in the western Dragon Ball fandom, most people can't help but look at the Z portion as the 'real' story, the main event, with everything before Raditz being more like a prequel. Even I, despite being AWARE of this tragedy, can not help it, it's almost a subconscious thing. I am unable to put Dragon Ball in the correct chronological order, I just automatically think of the Z portion and then everything before is a prequel, and trust me I try REALLY hard not to do that. But it's like a subconscious thing that I can't control. But the way you put it, where if Zoro became like Krillin or Yamcha, you're damn right. That puts everything into perspective.

[Cipher]

I am unable to put Dragon Ball in the correct chronological order, I just automatically think of the Z portion and then everything before is a prequel, and trust me I try REALLY hard not to do that. But it's like a subconscious thing that I can't control.

That's kind of an interesting phenomenon. Have you tried watching or reading it all the way through chronologically? I watched the series through with someone who had never seen it, starting from Dragon Ball episode 1, and I think it shook me of that thinking permanently. It's really difficult for me to think of Namek as anything other than the "middle" of the series now, or to think about how well the Boo arc fits as an end for the whole thing.

[EXBadguy]

As far as Dragon Ball in general goes I think it's just because most people grew up with Kuririn, Yamcha, Tenshinhan etc... These were really important characters once upon a time and they more or less have been forgotten about. Imagine One Piece where Luffy basically becomes so strong that everyone in his crew including Zoro become like Kuririn and Yamcha. See what I mean? If we basically went through the Grand line thinking the Straw Hats are the strongest crew ever and suddenly everyone becomes useless except Luffy then I'd assume people would become angry that their favorite character is no longer relevant. Most people would rather die than insult the mangaka gods so they basically blame the lead character for making everyone else useless. If Toriyama kept the entire cast relevant like Oda has with One Piece so far, I really wonder what DBZ/Super would be like. The only hope a Yamcha fan has of taking out a big baddie all on his own in the new material is if the franchise got a total reboot. I also think this is why everyone loves the Cell saga so much and says it should have been the ending as it was the last good saga until literally everyone but Vegeta and Goku got the shaft. I hope everyone In Super get's a turn around though because you can see it happening with Gohan already, Krillin chose to shave his head and fight again, and Piccolo died and in the manga

Spoiler:

(Is brought back to life)

. In my opinion there is somewhat of a buildup going on.

Wow man, that is such a great way to put it. It's quite a tragedy how in the western Dragon Ball fandom, most people can't help but look at the Z portion as the 'real' story, the main event, with everything before Raditz being more like a prequel. Even I, despite being AWARE of this tragedy, can not help it, it's almost a subconscious thing. I am unable to put Dragon Ball in the correct chronological order, I just automatically think of the Z portion and then everything before is a prequel, and trust me I try REALLY hard not to do that. But it's like a subconscious thing that I can't control. But the way you put it, where if Zoro became like Krillin or Yamcha, you're damn right. That puts everything into perspective.

Ah, who cares, just think about it that way if you really want to. It's not like this western part of the fanbase is the only one that does that. You also have other series like Star Wars prequels. Sure, it came after the originals, but many people didn't pay much attention to them despite how successful they were, and I never seen anyone complain about people ignoring most of the prequels of that series.