Is Dragon Ball a character-driven or plot-driven story?

[Doctor.]

Character-driven stories focus on the inner conflicts of the characters, how their decisions and personalities shape and manipulate the world they're living in and the plot of the series. And plot-driven stories, as the name implies, place a larger emphasis on the actual plot, the objective, the actions.

I think it's a bit hard to classify Dragon Ball as one or the other, but I'd learn towards character-driven. It deals almost entirely with inner conflicts, the arcs are almost always about what a character wants to do, with the villain being a secondary focus, but the problem is that those inner conflicts are almost always externalized through fighting (Majin Vegeta being perhaps the best example). But seeing as how the plot flows naturally from the characters' actions, I'd be more inclined to classify DB as a character-driven story.

[DBZAOTA482]

It's plot-driven with all the story arcs and stuff. Not to mention it rarely has any downtime to learn about the characters on a personal level.

It's generally more about the lore.

[Lord Beerus]

I'd say it's a bit of both, but with more leanings to it being plot driven. I mean, 80% of the major events in Dragon Ball start with little to no foreshadowing or build up. The Red Ribbon Army? Arrives out of nowhere. King Piccolo? Arrives out of nowhere. The Saiyans? Arrive out of nowhere. The Androids and Cell? Arrive out of nowhere. Majin Boo? Arrives out of nowhere. But at the same token, Goku's actions have an immense change on the plot. His decisions to spare Vegeta is arguably the most important decision made in the show because it literally shift the entire scope of the narrative. It literally becomes a plot point in the final arc of Dragon Ball and is a major catalyst for Vegeta's character development. And said character developed in itself molds the plot as Dragon Ball headed into its final stretch of the story. You take out of the plot from the Saiyan arc and beyond and Dragon Ball has a very different story.

[sintzu]

It's a bit of both but I'd say it's more character driven cause everything revolves around them while the villains and world building play secondary roles to that.

[LightBing]

Very much plot-driven. The characters develop within the arc, very organically for the most part.

Piccolo turning good for example. It's introduced with the Saiyan arc due to circumstances. We got pointers here and there that he's better than Piccolo Daimao( a bit out of nowhere) and when we notice, yeah he's a good guy and it totally works.

A big part of the reason are time-skips. They have a major impact in providing plausible development to the characters, without actually showing it. That's why when something happens to the characters, you are usually always watching a different version of them.
But it's very much the plot happening to them and not about them.

[DrakenballP]

It's no doubt both. The plot plays a huge part obviously, but so do the characters. They're very hand-and-hand with this Anime.

[ABED]

The distinction seems mostly artificial. What is a plot beyond what characters do and say?

[lancerman]

Plot. The plot drives everything in Dragon Ball.

A character driven story is something like the movie Birdman where the characters choices and desires dictate the plot.

The characters in Dragonball are on a roller coaster that is the plot. Things happen to them and they react. Saiyans come to Earth, they train, fight Saiyans, go to Namek to get new Dragon Balls, get swept up in a conflict with Freeza, defeat Freeza's minions, defeat Freeza, get off Namek, they all regroup when Freeza comes to Earth, Trunks comes and informs them of the Androids, they train, get swept up in the Androids and Cell conflicts, defeat Cell, 7 years passes, all of a sudden a bunch of villains are trying to resurrect Majin Boo, rinse and repeat.

The most character driven arc the story ever gets is from the first Tournament to the Red Ribbon Army arc. That's because after the first arc it's about Goku's personal journey to become a great Martial Artist and then to find a Dragon Ball where it's personal to him and he wants to help this boy get his father back.

[ABED]

Plot. The plot drives everything in Dragon Ball.

A character driven story is something like the movie Birdman where the characters choices and desires dictate the plot.

The characters in Dragonball are on a roller coaster that is the plot. Things happen to them and they react. Saiyans come to Earth, they train, fight Saiyans, go to Namek to get new Dragon Balls, get swept up in a conflict with Freeza, defeat Freeza's minions, defeat Freeza, get off Namek, they all regroup when Freeza comes to Earth, Trunks comes and informs them of the Androids, they train, get swept up in the Androids and Cell conflicts, defeat Cell, 7 years passes, all of a sudden a bunch of villains are trying to resurrect Majin Boo, rinse and repeat.

The most character driven arc the story ever gets is from the first Tournament to the Red Ribbon Army arc. That's because after the first arc it's about Goku's personal journey to become a great Martial Artist and then to find a Dragon Ball where it's personal to him and he wants to help this boy get his father back.

A plot is what the characters do and say. How are the characters in DB NOT dictating the plot? Goku gets advanced warning about the cyborgs and does nothing to stop their creation because he wants a fight. I think you are making an artificial distinction. Even in your examples where thinks apparently just happen to them, they are still a product of characters making choices and then the reactions are dictated by the characters and that creates the plot. Why is there a conflict on Namek? Because Freeza choses to go after immortality.

The most common definitions I find regarding the distinction has to do with if the story puts more emphasis on the internal change in the characters or the external change in the story arc. Every story has elements of both. Assuming we use such definitions, then yes, DB is more plot driven as the stories aren't as concerned with internal changes in the characters.

[lancerman]

Plot. The plot drives everything in Dragon Ball.

A character driven story is something like the movie Birdman where the characters choices and desires dictate the plot.

The characters in Dragonball are on a roller coaster that is the plot. Things happen to them and they react. Saiyans come to Earth, they train, fight Saiyans, go to Namek to get new Dragon Balls, get swept up in a conflict with Freeza, defeat Freeza's minions, defeat Freeza, get off Namek, they all regroup when Freeza comes to Earth, Trunks comes and informs them of the Androids, they train, get swept up in the Androids and Cell conflicts, defeat Cell, 7 years passes, all of a sudden a bunch of villains are trying to resurrect Majin Boo, rinse and repeat.

The most character driven arc the story ever gets is from the first Tournament to the Red Ribbon Army arc. That's because after the first arc it's about Goku's personal journey to become a great Martial Artist and then to find a Dragon Ball where it's personal to him and he wants to help this boy get his father back.

A plot is what the characters do and say. How are the characters in DB NOT dictating the plot? Goku gets advanced warning about the cyborgs and does nothing to stop their creation because he wants a fight. I think you are making an artificial distinction. Even in your examples where thinks apparently just happen to them, they are still a product of characters making choices and then the reactions are dictated by the characters and that creates the plot. Why is there a conflict on Namek? Because Freeza choses to go after immortality.

It's about what dictates the story. In a plot driven story the characters will still make choices. In Dragon Ball the choices are reactionary. Based off your rationale there are no such things as plot driven stories. The fact is we didn't even know who Freeza was when the characters landed on Namek, they just landed on a planet where a bad guy was looking for Dragon Balls.

The characters are taken for a ride, not the other way around.

The Great Gatsby is an example of a character driven story. The plot happens because the main character is in love with this girl and is driven on reuniting with her. He made choices throughout his life that put him the situation he starts the story in. His actions and desires in conjunction with the actions and desires of others ultimately creates the narrative.

Dragon Ball starts with a kid crossing path's with a girl already on a mission and he goes with her. The Piccolo arc has Piccolo starting the conflict and Goku trying to defeat him. Goku enters the last Tournament because Piccolo is there trying to kill him. The Saiyans come to Earth. Freeza is already on Namek. The Androids are coming. Characters are trying to ressurect Boo.

It's almost text book plot driven. That's not a bad thing either.

[ABED]

The fact is we didn't even know who Freeza was when the characters landed on Namek, they just landed on a planet where a bad guy was looking for Dragon Balls.

Not relevant to whether it's plot or character driven. The characters are looking for the DB's because they want their friends back. They have a motivation and so does Freeza which is what brings them into conflict. Your Gatsby example is no different than DB. The characters and their choices are what creates the story and how it unfolds. Piccolo went after martial artists because he was afraid one of them could lock him away again using the Mafuba. One of his victims was Kuririn, and Goku's reaction brought them into conflict.

The Androids are coming.

Which wouldn't have happened had Goku and his friends not let them be completed. They wanted a fight.

It's almost text book plot driven. That's not a bad thing either.

Didn't say it was, just that I don't think you understand that characters and their choices are always dictating the story. That's why I don't think it's a useful definition for the distinction. The best one is the one I listed where it's about change. There's very little character growth in Sherlock Holmes stories, but the characters are still creating the story. The perpetrators have motives for their crimes and Sherlock's deductions are how he solves them. The stories are more interested in solving the crime than they are showing some internal change in Watson and Sherlock which is rather rare in the original stories.

[lancerman]

The fact is we didn't even know who Freeza was when the characters landed on Namek, they just landed on a planet where a bad guy was looking for Dragon Balls.

Not relevant to whether it's plot or character driven. The characters are looking for the DB's because they want their friends back. They have a motivation and so does Freeza which is what brings them into conflict. Your Gatsby example is no different than DB. The characters and their choices are what creates the story and how it unfolds. Piccolo went after martial artists because he was afraid one of them could lock him away again using the Mafuba. One of his victims was Kuririn, and Goku's reaction brought them into conflict.

The Androids are coming.

Which wouldn't have happened had Goku and his friends not let them be completed. They wanted a fight.

It's almost text book plot driven. That's not a bad thing either.

Didn't say it was, just that I don't think you understand that characters and their choices are always dictating the story. That's why I don't think it's a useful definition for the distinction. The best one is the one I listed where it's about change. There's very little character growth in Sherlock Holmes stories, but the characters are still creating the story. The perpetrators have motives for their crimes and Sherlock's deductions are how he solves them. The stories are more interested in solving the crime than they are showing some internal change in Watson and Sherlock which is rather rare in the original stories.

They are looking for the Dragon Balls because they just had a plot driven fight that ended with all their friends dying and no way to bring them back like they expected. It was excuse to bring them to Namek where they got swept up in the fight with Freeza and resurrecting their friends became secondary to resolving the conflict.

You can't really compare Gatsby to Dragon Ball from a story structure perspective. In Gatsby the main characters literally choose where the plot went. In Dragon Ball the main characters get swept up in the villains plot points. Yeah at some point characters make reactionary choices on how to deal with the situation they are ALREADY stuck in. But those choices are limited to what the plot allows. In Gatsby the only reason the plot happens is because the main character has a desire. In Dragon Ball, the Saiyans come and they are forced to deal with it, their friends are dead and the only Dragon Balls are on Namek so they have to go, Freeza is on Namek so they have to beat them, the Androids are coming so they have to train to stop them, Cell shows up so they have to enter the Cell games, Boo is revived so they have to beat him. That's plot driving the characters.

A character driven story would be Raditz comes to Earth and fights Goku, before he dies he tells them there are two even stronger Saiyans out there somewhere. Goku resolves that he wants to learn more about his race and meet two stronger guys so he goes off to find Vegeta and Nappa and fight with them. Then if it eventually ends in Goku deciding he doesn't want to be like them and he has to fight them that's fine because it was dictated by choice not by action.

Again the way you are framing this, there would be no such thing as a "plot driven story". Which there are.

It's about what drives the narrative. In Dragon Ball, it's clearly the plot driving the narrative. Yes characters are forced to make choices. In Dragon Ball, they have a very limited number of choices and they are dictated by the plot.

[ABED]

They are looking for the Dragon Balls because they just had a plot driven fight that ended with all their friends dying and no way to bring them back like they expected. It was excuse to bring them to Namek where they got swept up in the fight with Freeza and resurrecting their friends became secondary to resolving the conflict.

They didn't get swept up in it. They could've stayed out of the conflict, but the characters' choices dictated how the story unfolded as it does in every story. Story and characters aren't hermetically sealed. They are interrelated. Plots are what characters do and say.

You can't really compare Gatsby to Dragon Ball from a story structure perspective. In Gatsby the main characters literally choose where the plot went.

As did DB. Villains are still characters who make choices which will then cause the protagonists to make a choice. Whether it's limited isn't relevant. Even if the choice is limted to get stronger and fight or die, the characters are still choosing a course of action.

the Androids are coming so they have to train to stop them, Cell shows up so they have to enter the Cell games, Boo is revived so they have to beat him. That's plot driving the characters.

The cyborgs were coming but they had advanced warning and decided to still allow their activation because they love a fight. Cell arrives, but Vegeta allowed him to reach his perfect form because he loves a fight. Buu is revived because Vegeta wanted to fight Goku. Character choices are what creates a plot.

In Gatsby the only reason the plot happens is because the main character has a desire.

This is just silly. In DB, the reason there's a story is because the characters have a desire. Bulma wants a boyfriend and Goku wants to be the best fighter he can be. He goes out into the world to achieve that end.

it was dictated by choice not by action

I don't even know what this means. Action is a choice. The number of choices has no bearing on the issue because it's still the characters who are making them and how they go about those decisions are determined by who those characters are and what drives them.

Again the way you are framing this, there would be no such thing as a "plot driven story". Which there are.

I don't think you quite understand what a plot is. Characters are always determining the course of the plot. Even in your examples, the villains are still characters. Plots are what the characters do and say. And I have since changed how I framed the issue. The best definition regards change. Is the change more external or internal. In DB's case, it's usually more external. Rarely if ever are the characters resolving some internal conflict.

[Desassina]

It's the-artistic-decisions-and-match-ups-by-Toriyama driven. He comes up with a new character, setting, goals and conflict for artistic reasons.

[Cipher]

It would be disingenuous to say it's anything other than plot-driven, as it's really a series about throwing everyone headlong into action and direct confrontation and twists(!), but the thing that keeps me coming back to it is that Toriyama's such a natural storyteller, in its best moments it's both. The characters propel the conflict; they age and they grow, often during the action itself. Everything dovetails nicely. They're people we care about seeing move through different phases in their lives over the span of almost forty years.

If you want to see more purely plot-driven Dragon Ball, look no further than the first four arcs of Super or, much as I do enjoy it for other reasons, GT.

[hectorgf]

The characters have huge arcs, that usually long for 2 or 3 sagas.
While the story is simple and not the big deal. In the end, what every story arc shows are conflicts getting started or concluded.

I would say that'd be both, but the characters are the essence of Dragon Ball. So, I guess it's character-driven.

[RedRibbonSoldier#42]

It's a Shueisha's-editorial-office driven story.

[TheGreatness25]

I think that it's all plot-driven. No matter how much you read or watch, you'll never really find that there's any part of the story that dives into the characters. Yes, you get to know them and they establish the characters' motivations pretty well, but that's not what drives the story and thus, it's plot-driven. The M.O. in the entire Dragon Ball series is "Hey, here's Goku and his friends, and then all of this shit happens." It's never, "Hey, here's Goku; here's what he thinks and feels and he will go on an adventure because of his thoughts and feelings." The characters' backstories are just there to flesh them out, but never really spawn any part of the actual storytelling. Thus, it's plot-driven.

I'll even go a step further and say that many characters are shaped by the plot. Why were Goten and Trunks so strong? Why did they go Super Saiyan so easily? Why can everyone with Saiyan blood suddenly go Super Saiyan when only one Saiyan could generations before? Because that's what the story needed. What's that? He's weaker than the villain? Well that's okay, there's a power-up for that! And he'll miraculously be stronger now! What's that? The villain has a power-up too? You don't say! Now he's stronger than the hero! But wait! There's another power-up for someone else to fix that! And on and on and on.

[8000 Saiyan]

I'd say it's a bit of both.

[ABED]

never, "Hey, here's Goku; here's what he thinks and feels and he will go on an adventure because of his thoughts and feelings."

That's precisely why he goes on adventures. He goes with Bulma because he wants to see the world and become as good a martial artist as he can be. He searches for the 4-star DB because it was his grandfather's memento. He lets Dr. Gero create the Cyborgs because he wants a good fight.