Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by MasenkoHA » Wed Feb 17, 2021 8:47 am

Re: Piccolo Obviously Toriyama did not code Piccolo as black. He’s a Japanese man born and raised in a very homogenous country hence his output of actual black characters is of the Little Black Sambo variety.

But, a lot of Black American DBZ fans did identify with Piccolo as the black man of the group based on their own lived experiences (which is completely different from Akira Toriyama’s experiences) and their interpretation is completely valid.

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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by Kid Buu » Thu Feb 18, 2021 1:28 am

Polyphase Avatron wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 2:56 am Well Nam and Uub are more Indian. So I guess Officer Black is the only prominent character in the series who can really be considered 'black'. Although some people interpret Piccolo as being coded to be black, and for some reason I tend to think of Beerus that way too.
There's a black baseball player in Yamcha's DBZ debut episode too.
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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by dragonmagico » Thu Feb 18, 2021 11:29 am

Polyphase Avatron wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 3:32 am For some reason I just could easily see a black actor portraying Beerus.
snoopdog beerus mashup memes is probably why.

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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by goku the krump dancer » Thu Feb 18, 2021 11:40 am

jjgp1112 wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 9:39 pm
Super Sonic wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 9:14 pm Now that I think of it, besides Bojack, have there been any Black actors in DB? Haven't watched Super, so no clue who of new guys are there, and with Kai and two movies, most diverse of Funimation's cast are one half-Vietnamese guy and two Hispanic women. Know with voice acting, it doesn't matter so much, but kinda curious.
A lot of Universe 11 characters were played by black actors.
Not gonna lie, Belmod's and Dyspo's voices were a little off putting to me, not because they sounded "black" perse but I think they just sounded too human for the voices to match who they are. Beerus doesn't sound like Angry Cat Man but he does speak with a regal speech pattern that helps give off the divine impression with the style of voice that Jason Douglas chose to go with.

Hearing Dyspo say " Maaan, We Dah Praahd Troopas." just didn't seem like a natural fit to me. He and Belmod sound like some of my neighbors.


MasenkoHA wrote: Wed Feb 17, 2021 8:47 am But, a lot of Black American DBZ fans did identify with Piccolo as the black man of the group based on their own lived experiences (which is completely different from Akira Toriyama’s experiences) and their interpretation is completely valid.
jjgp1112 wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 4:37 pm I can't help but laugh at how something that is largely a JOKE amongst black DB fans has somehow mutated into an actual point of discussion from everybody but the black fans who started it. White and other races of DB fans: I promise y'all we don't actually think Piccolo is black or black coded, so stop looking for signs. :lol:
@MasenkoHa you see JJGp1112's post? Take heed to it. Any black DB fan with half a brain knows that there isn't anything black about Piccolo at all. For the ones who try to find legitimacy in the joke (black or otherwise) they're reaching hella hard for "representation" in a show that isn't about that.

Piccolo gets waay less scrutiny and even pedestalization for being a Namekian than Goku and Vegeta get for being Saiyans. So you cant say that he's some poor sap trying to fit in but cant because he looks different and people are mean to him.
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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by VegettoEX » Thu Feb 18, 2021 2:18 pm

In no way do I want to either appear to be, or actually engage in, explaining things back to its audience, but the Piccolo and Black community identification thing is something I have read about as long as I've been a fan. Here are a couple articles I've noted from recent history (more largely talking about anime/DBZ in general, but with specific nods to Piccolo as well):

https://www.vice.com/en/article/avykp8/ ... merica-805

https://kotaku.com/why-black-men-love-d ... 1820481429

I'd love to hear more perspective on this.
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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by MyVisionity » Thu Feb 18, 2021 2:42 pm

goku the krump dancer wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 11:40 am
MasenkoHA wrote: Wed Feb 17, 2021 8:47 am But, a lot of Black American DBZ fans did identify with Piccolo as the black man of the group based on their own lived experiences (which is completely different from Akira Toriyama’s experiences) and their interpretation is completely valid.
jjgp1112 wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 4:37 pm I can't help but laugh at how something that is largely a JOKE amongst black DB fans has somehow mutated into an actual point of discussion from everybody but the black fans who started it. White and other races of DB fans: I promise y'all we don't actually think Piccolo is black or black coded, so stop looking for signs. :lol:
@MasenkoHa you see JJGp1112's post? Take heed to it. Any black DB fan with half a brain knows that there isn't anything black about Piccolo at all. For the ones who try to find legitimacy in the joke (black or otherwise) they're reaching hella hard for "representation" in a show that isn't about that.
I mean, if it's a joke, then there must be some piece of legitimacy involved in the first place, right? There must have been something about Piccolo, particularly FUNimation's Piccolo, that was associated with Blackness by the audience. Wasn't it jjgp1112 himself who mentioned not long ago about his mother having overheard the show once and remarking that Piccolo sounded like a "Black father"?

I always thought audiences were picking up on certain stereotypes of Black masculinity, via Piccolo's portrayal in the English dub. Or something about his air and overall personality. I'm not sure how much that kind of thing can extend beyond a joke though. It's mostly superficial.

But I do think there is something to the fact that Piccolo is the only one of his kind among the Earthlings, and often sticks out because of it. And "pedestalization" can also be called dehumanization.

I also see bits and pieces of the Black experience within the story of God/Piccolo's discovery and relationship to their Namekian ancestry. As well as with the Namekians themselves and their ordeals on Planet Namek with Freeza, and then later on with the Big Gete Star on New Namek.

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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by jjgp1112 » Thu Feb 18, 2021 6:41 pm

MyVisionity wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 2:42 pm
goku the krump dancer wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 11:40 am
MasenkoHA wrote: Wed Feb 17, 2021 8:47 am But, a lot of Black American DBZ fans did identify with Piccolo as the black man of the group based on their own lived experiences (which is completely different from Akira Toriyama’s experiences) and their interpretation is completely valid.
jjgp1112 wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 4:37 pm I can't help but laugh at how something that is largely a JOKE amongst black DB fans has somehow mutated into an actual point of discussion from everybody but the black fans who started it. White and other races of DB fans: I promise y'all we don't actually think Piccolo is black or black coded, so stop looking for signs. :lol:
@MasenkoHa you see JJGp1112's post? Take heed to it. Any black DB fan with half a brain knows that there isn't anything black about Piccolo at all. For the ones who try to find legitimacy in the joke (black or otherwise) they're reaching hella hard for "representation" in a show that isn't about that.
I mean, if it's a joke, then there must be some piece of legitimacy involved in the first place, right? There must have been something about Piccolo, particularly FUNimation's Piccolo, that was associated with Blackness by the audience. Wasn't it jjgp1112 himself who mentioned not long ago about his mother having overheard the show once and remarking that Piccolo sounded like a "Black father"?

I always thought audiences were picking up on certain stereotypes of Black masculinity, via Piccolo's portrayal in the English dub. Or something about his air and overall personality. I'm not sure how much that kind of thing can extend beyond a joke though. It's mostly superficial.

But I do think there is something to the fact that Piccolo is the only one of his kind among the Earthlings, and often sticks out because of it. And "pedestalization" can also be called dehumanization.

I also see bits and pieces of the Black experience within the story of God/Piccolo's discovery and relationship to their Namekian ancestry. As well as with the Namekians themselves and their ordeals on Planet Namek with Freeza, and then later on with the Big Gete Star on New Namek.
I mean yeah, that happened with my mom...but even that was a joke. It's like you said, Piccolo's attitude and dub voice align with stereotypes of black masculinity and so it became a running joke among us that then others started taking seriously because so many folks only think in those stereotypes.
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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by Super Sonic » Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:05 pm

WittyUsername wrote: Wed Feb 17, 2021 12:19 am Is Bob Carter (the voice of Bojack) black?
Yes. Will say, knew he was Bojack and Balrog, didn't know he was Sig Curtis and Syn Shenron. Grant I didn't watch much of GT and been a bit since I saw many of the FMA eps he was in, hence why I didn't know.

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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by Shaddy » Thu Feb 18, 2021 10:09 pm

I don't really have much of an opinion on this because I think DB has too few black people in it to really form one, but on a related note I'll recommend pspiq's Black People of Dragon Ball threads, examining how what representation there is happens to be presented.

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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by Yosheets » Sat Feb 20, 2021 8:33 pm

PurestEvil wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 3:14 am Officer Black, for sure. He was the most competent RRA leader (more than blue imo) and had the sense to put an end to Red's bullshit.
Red is a bad antagonist, but he's not as bad as people think. In the Anime, I believe he just wanted to use the military to track the Dragon Balls down and become taller, but in the Manga, he actually wanted to take over the world, but he also wanted to use said Dragon Balls to become taller.

Anyway, regarding the thread, I also think Staff Officer Black is the best black character in Dragon Ball, because Oob and Nam are most likely Indian.

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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by PurestEvil » Sat Feb 20, 2021 9:45 pm

Yosheets wrote: Sat Feb 20, 2021 8:33 pm Red is a bad antagonist, but he's not as bad as people think.
Sorry to get off topic, but if I may ask: by that statement, do you mean he was a pathetic villain or he is a poorly written character?
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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by Yosheets » Sat Feb 20, 2021 9:58 pm

PurestEvil wrote: Sat Feb 20, 2021 9:45 pm
Yosheets wrote: Sat Feb 20, 2021 8:33 pm Red is a bad antagonist, but he's not as bad as people think.
Sorry to get off topic, but if I may ask: by that statement, do you mean he was a pathetic villain or he is a poorly written character?
Both, and I gave my reasons why in my previous post.

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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by emperior » Sun Feb 21, 2021 5:33 pm

I would say Goku Black.

But seriously, we have so few black-skinned characters in DB that this thread sounds really out of nowhere and useless.
Anyways, I guess Uub’s my favorite though Pamput also had a cool design.
It would be very cool if they introduced some character with black skin, darker than Uub’s and Pamput’s (like officer Black) without giving them those big lips which look quite ridiculuous and racist. I guess GT’s Majuub is the closest we got to such a character.

Also I just opened one of those links Mike posted up there and immediately noped out of it. What kind of title is “Why black men love DBZ”? That’s quite stereotypical and generalizing. What are they going to do next, “Why white girls love MHA?” (It wouldn’t surprise me if they already did it).
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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by Hulk10 » Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:21 pm

Officer Black is my favorite.
MasenkoHA wrote: Wed Feb 17, 2021 8:47 am Re: Piccolo Obviously Toriyama did not code Piccolo as black. He’s a Japanese man born and raised in a very homogenous country hence his output of actual black characters is of the Little Black Sambo variety.

But, a lot of Black American DBZ fans did identify with Piccolo as the black man of the group based on their own lived experiences (which is completely different from Akira Toriyama’s experiences) and their interpretation is completely valid.
My interpretation is that the characters are very diverse. Some are Japanese, others are not.
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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by VegettoEX » Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:24 pm

emperior wrote: Sun Feb 21, 2021 5:33 pm Also I just opened one of those links Mike posted up there and immediately noped out of it. What kind of title is “Why black men love DBZ”? That’s quite stereotypical and generalizing. What are they going to do next, “Why white girls love MHA?” (It wouldn’t surprise me if they already did it).
Authors don't always get to choose their headlines. Look at the author, read the article, and let's try again! :thumbup:
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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by JulieYBM » Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:33 pm

Hey don't worry, it's okay to make fun of white girls! 😇

Anyway, good gravy are the designs for black people in this series yikes. Black has a quaint storyline, though.
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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by UltraInstinctRorikon » Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:02 am

Uh...

The egyptian lady at ToP I guess.
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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by emperior » Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:39 am

VegettoEX wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:24 pm
emperior wrote: Sun Feb 21, 2021 5:33 pm Also I just opened one of those links Mike posted up there and immediately noped out of it. What kind of title is “Why black men love DBZ”? That’s quite stereotypical and generalizing. What are they going to do next, “Why white girls love MHA?” (It wouldn’t surprise me if they already did it).
Authors don't always get to choose their headlines. Look at the author, read the article, and let's try again! :thumbup:
I admit it was dumb of me to write-off the article just from the name alone. I read it, I liked it and I agree with most of what is written.

But I generally disagree with the idea that most black people like DBZ because they identify with the Saiyan’s history, which is an idea the article also brings up:
“Black men don’t just like the show because it reflects the broader narrative of black history”.
But Saiyans were mass murderers unlike black people, and while they were “enslaved” by Freeza that’s still not enough of a connection with what happened to black people in real life. Saiyans still were the oppressors. In fact I would say it is Namekians who may be more related to black history.
Even Piccolo kept being addressed in a racist way by Vegeta (I think especially in Funimation’s version? Correct me if I am wrong).
And Vegeta is someone who according to the article black people identify with, someone who not only is racist (in fact the way he talks about Saiyans seems like the way some white supremacists talk about themselves) but in the show he went on to kill green kids and elders just to steal a Dragon Ball. And later on killed a thousand innocents just to fight his Saiyan rival. I don’t think people, be their skin black or any other color, would want a guy like that in their crew.

But there’s a point the article doesn’t touch upon which I feel should be brought up. I would wholeheartedly agree if they pointed out that black people probably found it super satisfying to watch Goku beat the heck out of Freeza, someone who happens to be white, a ruler/enslaver, and someone who uses a formal languae and, above all, someone who kept referring to Saiyans as “monkeys”.

But generally, as the article goes on to say, black people, like many other people who like Dragon Ball, probably find Son Goku’s story to be very inspiring because of his motivation, personality, his will to always improve and yes, his underdog status too. It is indeed the kind of show which likely appeals more to underdogs, and to those who feel like they have to work twice as hard as anybody else to reach their level.

By the way I would say that Naruto is much more appropriate as the kind of show which would logically resonate more with black people, as it tells the story of an underdog who was feared and avoided by the other villagers without ever having done anythiny wrong. That seems to be the kind of story which should hit harder to black people living in European countries or in the US, especially if they too had it rough as kids because of being “different” from the others.
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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by goku the krump dancer » Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:19 pm

Look, those articles were cute but they didn't add anything in regards to insight that hasn't been discussed already.

Black people were slaves, Saiyans were slaves at worst, under valued workers at best. The biggest difference between African slaves and Saiyans is that the Saiyans reveled in conquest and bloodshed, whereas real life slaves didn't take glee in picking cotton and being raped while being berated all at the same. That's one of the reasons why its such a reach, because black folks weren't the only people who were enslaved through out history yet you don't see other ethnic groups discussing racism when talking about "relating" to the Freeza arc.

It's weird that the article seemed to suggest that only Black men were drawn to Dragon Ball because of the crazy fights, as if only black men can relate to fighting each other. I guarantee if you ask a Middle eastern fan why he likes DB, he'll most likely say because its cool seeing Goku slug it out with different dudes while mountains and buildings explode.

I like that the girl said she related to Sailor Jupiter because she's also tall and shy like the character. That's something any girl who's tall and shy can relate to, it's not just some "Black Girl Magic" thing.
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Re: Black history month: Who is your favorite black DB character?

Post by jjgp1112 » Tue Feb 23, 2021 8:13 pm

If you talk to black DB fans they're probably way more likely to favor Vegeta, yeah. The whole "Goku's a bad father" thing is an even bigger running gag amongst us, at least from what I've seen.

(I've even seen people go as far as calling Goku a coon :lol: )
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