Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

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Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by Sadala Elite » Tue Apr 07, 2020 7:35 pm

If you were to treat each arc's depiction of a character as a separate character, who would you say are the best written in the series?

My vote goes to Namek saga Vegeta, followed by Buu saga Vegeta, then Saiyan saga Piccolo at 3rd place (I'll explain why in a later post).

What are your view & opinions?

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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by WittyUsername » Tue Apr 07, 2020 8:03 pm

Probably Saiyan saga Piccolo.

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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by It_Is_Ayna_You_Flips » Tue Apr 07, 2020 8:09 pm

It's a little cheesy at parts but 23rd Budokai Tenshinhan for me. Close second would be Saiyan Arc Piccolo. Somewhat distant third is Goku during the Red Ribbon Arc.
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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by OhHiRenan » Wed Apr 08, 2020 7:15 am

Tenshinhan in the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai has always stood out as a very well written arc to me. The fact so much is done with Tenshinhan’s character in so little time always impresses me.

I’m also a big fan of Goku’s characterization in the Saiyan & Freeza arcs.

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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by Vijay » Wed Apr 08, 2020 8:02 am

Goku in RRA Arc

Vegeta in Namek Arc

Vegeta in Android Arc

Goku in Boo Arc

Mr. Satan in Boo Arc

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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by Peach » Wed Apr 08, 2020 11:03 am

Either Tien or Roshi in the King Piccolo saga.

The King Piccolo saga was pretty damn good. Probably my favorite story in the entire franchise.

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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by Matches Malone » Wed Apr 08, 2020 11:16 am

21st Tenkaichi: Roshi
22nd Tenkaichi: Tien
King Piccolo/23rd Tenkaichi: Goku
Saiyan: Piccolo
Namek/Buu: Vegeta
Android: Future Trunks

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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by Desassina » Wed Apr 08, 2020 5:45 pm

Beers in the U6T arc. He needed some kind of rival for us to know more about him. It ended up being his brother from another universe. They led to a tournament and some higher entity than a God of Destruction. It reminds me of how Goku needed Krillin for a tournament and Roshi as the grand master. In Champa's tournament, Hit reminded me of Tien and I felt that his abilities had the best writing there, in the anime compared to his later appearances.

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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by LoganForkHands73 » Wed Apr 08, 2020 6:23 pm

I'm glad people have already said Saiyan Saga Piccolo because honestly that was the one that instantly popped into my mind without even really thinking about it. Tien's internal conflict throughout his own debut saga was also really well handled, but his death in the Saiyan Saga was also a huge gut punch despite his reduced role. I still have huge respect for the original TV special version of Bardock for being such an unconventional protagonist in a dark story.

For the Super era, Zamasu stands out for being a truly unique antagonist with clear, understandable motives who degenerates over the course of the Goku Black arc. Android 17 in the Tournament of Power also really resonates with me. I've made a whole thread about why he works so well in that arc. I like how his character development is more subtly conveyed than most ex-villains.

Really, the whole franchise has so many examples. Toriyama, Toyotaro and the Toei writers excel most at character writing. I think Dragon Ball usually works best when you think about it in terms of positioning character above plot in terms of importance. I don't buy into the "characters must always serve story" spiel at all.

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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by Sadala Elite » Thu Apr 09, 2020 3:33 am

OhHiRenan wrote: Wed Apr 08, 2020 7:15 am Tenshinhan in the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai has always stood out as a very well written arc to me. The fact so much is done with Tenshinhan’s character in so little time always impresses me.

I’m also a big fan of Goku’s characterization in the Saiyan & Freeza arcs.
Tien was such an awesome character back when he was the main antagonist. It's a shame how Toriyama neglected him after the 22nd TB.

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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by McDonaldsGuy » Thu Apr 09, 2020 10:47 am

One thing I loved about Vegeta's change was that it happened super slowly, and believably. He didn't go from insane evil prick to nice guy in just one arc. In fact, when he does become a family man, he even goes back to being evil for a bit. Piccolo's change was good, but was too fast and not much conflict later on. For example: when he meets Goku on Namek, it's like they were best friends forever when Piccolo hasn't seen Goku since he killed him along with Raditz. I would've liked it better if Piccolo still harbored a bit of hatred for Goku (despite caring for Gohan). Kind of like how he still hated Kami a lot but fused for the sake of the world (a super underrated DBZ moment).

But since you said one arc, it would have to be Namek saga Vegeta for the reason mentioned above: he joins Gohan and Kurririn out of necessity, but although he doesn't form a bond with them you can tell Vegeta is starting to soften a bit. Vegeta could have easily taken over Earth after Goku blows up on Namek but I don't think he does it out of respect for Goku. When Goku dies in the future, he could have done it as well but didn't because of the respect he had built throughout the Namek saga.

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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by SupremeKai25 » Thu Apr 09, 2020 11:25 am

DBZ: Vegeta easily had the best character evolution, seeing him grow from a genocidal maniac to a redeemed father was very interesting. His sacrifice against Buu was one of my favourite moments in Z. I never thought that this asshole who tried to destroy the Earth would end up sacrificing himself to protect it.

DBS: Zamasu was an amazing villain and the only villain in Dragon Ball who was morally grey. I loved his negative character arc and how he ultimately ended up becoming what he hated the most. That was the peak DBS writing. Toriyama, Toyotaro, and Toei did a fantastic job in writing this character, even if Toriyama initially doubted whether they'd be able to do him justice (since again Zamasu is a unique villain in Dragon Ball as originally he was good). The Future Trunks arc was very controversial due to some questionable story decisions made by the writers, but Zamasu was certainly one of the strong points of that arc.

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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by Vijay » Thu Apr 09, 2020 2:08 pm

Sadala Elite wrote: Thu Apr 09, 2020 3:33 am
OhHiRenan wrote: Wed Apr 08, 2020 7:15 am Tenshinhan in the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai has always stood out as a very well written arc to me. The fact so much is done with Tenshinhan’s character in so little time always impresses me.

I’m also a big fan of Goku’s characterization in the Saiyan & Freeza arcs.
Tien was such an awesome character back when he was the main antagonist. It's a shame how Toriyama neglected him after the 22nd TB.
Not as bad as Yamcha...so that's a relief 😂 but gotta say, Tien did some useful stuff in Piccolo Arc.

I developed new-found respect for Tien after he attacked Semi Cell with Shin KiKoHo. Then on, I began to appreciate whenever he pops on-screen. Besides, he is a human. It's miraculous feat in itself for a human character standing-up against deadly bio-weapon made from universal strongest warriors & strongest form of Majin Boo....goddamn...

You can't blame Toriyama as well. As power discrepancies b'ween humans & Saiyans grew, so did their roles. But would've liked some sort of potential unlock or ritual with Tien just to make him relevant...

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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by KorgDTR2000 » Thu Apr 09, 2020 4:30 pm

Boo Arc Vegeta.

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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by Psajdak » Thu Apr 09, 2020 10:54 pm

First to make one thing clear - for me, the best written character in the entire series is Bulma.

Other than her, Gohan was also very well done for most of DBZ.

Their parts was very short, but I like Raditz in Saiyan, and Mirai Mai in Zamasu arc.

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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by Cursed Lemon » Sat Apr 11, 2020 5:33 pm

I think Vegeta's transformation over the entirety of DBZ is the most complete, dedicated, and reinforced character transformation in the entire series (although there's no fixing stupid). Piccolo in the saiyan arc is second I'd argue.

Gohan's moment to shine was incredible and it has multiple moments of reinforcement throughout the whole series up to the end of the Cell games, but it's also sort of shoehorned in there at the end with respect to his inner conflict.
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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by sunsetshimmer » Sun Apr 12, 2020 2:28 pm

The most memorable ones to me:

22nd Budokai - Tien
King Piccolo saga - Goku
Saiyan saga - Piccolo
Namek saga - Vegeta
Buu saga - Mr. Satan + Vegeta
Black Star saga - Pan & Giru + Trunks
Shadow Dragons saga - Vegeta

Having Vegeta so many times must make me look like his fan lol, but he's got some good development in those arcs really
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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by funrush » Sun Apr 12, 2020 2:46 pm

Majin Vegeta arc is some of the best character writing in any Shonen Jump thing I've read. DBZ is an action cartoon made for kids, yet they still managed to give Vegeta a really compelling, mature story arc about what is essentially his midlife crisis. Can't say I've seen many stories tackle what a serial killer's midlife crisis would look like LOL

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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by Sadala Elite » Sun Apr 12, 2020 9:08 pm

funrush wrote: Sun Apr 12, 2020 2:46 pm Majin Vegeta arc is some of the best character writing in any Shonen Jump thing I've read. DBZ is an action cartoon made for kids, yet they still managed to give Vegeta a really compelling, mature story arc about what is essentially his midlife crisis. Can't say I've seen many stories tackle what a serial killer's midlife crisis would look like LOL
When I was younger, I just thought Vegeta was just becoming evil again in the Buu saga as a simple cool moment. I didnt realize that it was a mid-life crisis story until I rewatched the whole series again in my early 20s. From there I had a knew found appreciation for both the character and the series as a whole. Such a great character arc.

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Re: Which character in which saga would you say is the best written character in the Franchise?

Post by Sadala Elite » Fri Apr 17, 2020 8:54 pm

What about villains?

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