It’s literally such a SHAME how LAME and WASTED Videl became.

[ABED]

How was she shafted? If she contributes it can't be as a fighter. She's a newbie. What audience would buy that?

[MasenkoHA]

"Videl has a personality outside of hating men"

Nothing about Videl’s personality ever indicates she hates men

and "Videl helps Gohan kick the shit out of Majin Buu."

Videl being able to fight against Boo would be ridiculous. Not because of her sex, because of her status as a human and coming in a point of the stories where the main cast are more powerful than Gods.

[JulieYBM]

Videl being able to fight against Boo would be ridiculous. Not because of her sex, because of her status as a human and coming in a point of the stories where the main cast are more powerful than Gods.

But that's stupid and arbitrary and we should ignore it. It's just there to justify the Saiyans being so much more powerful than the humans.

Or Hell, Gokuu being a bulldozer throughout the first few arcs.

We need to start with our conclusion and work from there, not worry about battle powers and dumb shit like that.

Like, hell, if it really matters so much then...make Videl being so strong a piece of the story and character arcs.

[MasenkoHA]

But that's stupid and arbitrary and we should ignore it.

It’s really not though. Pretending it is is ridiculous.

.

Or Hell, Gokuu being a bulldozer throughout the first few arcs.

It was established from moment one that whatever Goku is he wasn’t exactly human.

We need to start with our conclusion and work from there, not worry about battle powers and dumb shit like that.

It has jack all to do with battle powers. She’s a normal human teenager who didn’t even know ki was a thing and was self trained. It would be just as ludicrous if she was a male character.

Like yeah it’s a big problem that female fighters are next to non existent in the original story. And in hindsight I kind of wish Toriyama had made Tenshinhan a woman or something and allowed Android 18 to be more involved than Krillin’s prize for being such a stand up guy. But forcing a completely normal teenager to be as strong as the main cast for whatever arbitrary reason you can think of aint it.


Hell the fact that she’s stronger than her dad, the alleged strongest man in the world is an impressive feat on its own. When we meet her she is quite possibly the strongest normal human to not have been associated with the dragon team

[WittyUsername]

As I believe I said earlier in the thread, Videl wouldn’t necessarily need to be as strong as the male characters to have relevance in the story. In that same arc, Mr. Satan is an integral character to the plot and he doesn’t even know how to use Ki. Toriyama just plain wasn’t interested in using her anymore.

[jjgp1112]

As I believe I said earlier in the thread, Videl wouldn’t necessarily need to be as strong as the male characters to have relevance in the story. In that same arc, Mr. Satan is an integral character to the plot and he doesn’t even know how to use Ki. Toriyama just plain wasn’t interested in using her anymore.

But Mr. Satan is a far more compelling character to use in that type of role. His buffoonery saving the world (and almost doing it once before) is a great bit of irony and pays off 2 years of character stuff.

[BWri]

Videl could be better used in arcs that don't involve some world ending fighter. I'd like Dragon Ball to at least sometimes dive into the old stuff. Silly fetch quests and side goals. Remember when Bulma, Oolong, and Yamcha all had unique goals and reasons for teaming up with Goku even simple trifling things ... Pepperidge Farm remembers.

Hopefully the anime returns with more slice of life stuff. I remember when that was the best content in DBS before the fight scenes got super sick.

I liked Videl in the Barry Khan episode even though it was super cliche. Her believing in Gohan was heartwarming. I'd have enjoyed it more if she were the one to rough up Barry Khan, but Gohan kinda needed all the shine he could get at that point

[ABED]

Storytellers need to be mindful of what the audience will buy. They can say "this is my story and I say Videl can help defeat Majin Buu" but don't be surprised if the audience goes "BS!" Dunno how many here watch wrestling but decades ago, the owner of the Tennessee territory made his son the top guy for his promotion. Problem was, he was awful and it didn't take long for the territory to tank because he wasn't good. The audience didn't buy it. He was pushed far above what his ability justified.

I don't care how much of a prodigy Videl is, she's a newbie. Goku was not remotely in the same situation. He was introduced as different than everyone else and more than human. And he was raised by a martial arts master. He wasn't starting at square one.

[90sDBZ]

Storytellers need to be mindful of what the audience will buy. They can say "this is my story and I say Videl can help defeat Majin Buu" but don't be surprised if the audience goes "BS!" Dunno how many here watch wrestling but decades ago, the owner of the Tennessee territory made his son the top guy for his promotion. Problem was, he was awful and it didn't take long for the territory to tank because he wasn't good. The audience didn't buy it. He was pushed far above what his ability justified.

I don't care how much of a prodigy Videl is, she's a newbie. Goku was not remotely in the same situation. He was introduced as different than everyone else and more than human. And he was raised by a martial arts master. He wasn't starting at square one.

While I agree it wouldn't make sense for Videl to go toe-to-toe with Buu, can't the exact same argument be made for several characters in Super, particularly in the ToP?

You and several others on here defend the stuff from Super, saying that power scaling isn't a big deal. If it's not a big deal then why not throw Videl into the mix too? It would make about as much sense as Goku going SSB on Krillin, 17 inexplicably reaching God-Tier, and Roshi getting involved.

That aside, I have mixed feelings about Videl as a character. She shows incredible courage in several dangerous situations, but her recklessness often puts civilians in danger. Overall I like her, but would only want her to get involved in the action if it were done in a believable way. Seeing her fight Frieza's grunts alongside Gohan in RF would have been cool (probably a better choice than Jaco, although I'd rather Yamcha).

[MasenkoHA]

You and several others on here defend the stuff from Super, saying that power scaling isn't a big deal. If it's not a big deal then why not throw Videl into the mix too? It would make about as much sense as Goku going SSB on Krillin, 17 inexplicably reaching God-Tier, and Roshi getting involved.

That aside, I have mixed feelings about Videl as a character. She shows incredible courage in several dangerous situations, but her recklessness often puts civilians in danger. Overall I like her, but would only want her to get involved in the action if it were done in a believable way. Seeing her fight Frieza's grunts alongside Gohan in RF would have been cool (probably a better choice than Jaco, although I'd rather Yamcha).

They justified that Roshi may lack power but he has centuries of knowledge. Videl knows comparatively basic martial arts and the extent of her ki control is just flight. The narrative never expected us to believe that Roshi was on Goku’s level again. Just that he could handle some weaker cannon fodder

[ZeroNeonix]

I never expected Videl to become strong enough to fight on the front lines with Gohan, but my problem with her is how much her personality changed. She's turned such a boring character. She's just so flawless and perfect now, not at all like the moody teenager she used to be. Her personality in Super could best be described as "Gohan's perfect housewife."

[MasenkoHA]

I never expected Videl to become strong enough to fight on the front lines with Gohan, but my problem with her is how much her personality changed. She's turned such a boring character. She's just so flawless and perfect now, not at all like the moody teenager she used to be. Her personality in Super could best be described as "Gohan's perfect housewife."

That’s my problem too. She’s literally just an idealized version of a housewife now. She cooks, she cleans. She’s passive. She supports her husband 100 percent and never doubts or questions him. If Gohan and Videl’s Leave it to Beaver style marriage was suppose to be the joke that might work. But I don’t think it is.

[Jack Bz]

I always laugh at the weird rhyming of this thread title.

I too don't have any desire for Videl to be relevant to the story, but the scenes where she is in are disappointing. She literally doesn't feel like the same character at all.

If I was to see her have a role in the story, it would probably be her being Pan's martial arts teacher. There's probably some classic Toriyama humour in a teacher teaching a student who is way way way beyond the teacher in power. I guess it's similar to Chi Chi teaching Goten except not off screen.

[TheZFighter]

Out of interest what were your expectations for Videl, or how would you have liked her to have been used?

[JulieYBM]

Out of interest what were your expectations for Videl, or how would you have liked her to have been used?

Super generic answer that doesn't get into the nitty gritty of story development:

She fights, has hobbies and passions, and has cool and cute scenes. Her kickassery does not come at the expense of being feminine and she isn't a parody of male characters. Her character flaws are respectful, not relying on tired notions of what is or is not appropriate for a woman, but she grows and overcomes her weaknesses to achieve her goals.

Basically, Yuuki Asuna but with even more focus.

[Koitsukai]

Out of interest what were your expectations for Videl, or how would you have liked her to have been used?

I would've been fine if she had learned the masenko. Nothing sells me a relationship like learning your partner's moves.

If Yamcha could learn to fly, shoot kamehamehas, develop his own techniques, and fight androids without having true royal blood coursing through his veins, like Videl does, then she can wear an orange gi and show up to fight Freeza in RoF. Add Videl in a Kame/Son/Satan school gi to the iconic Z pic of the full gang ready to fight vs Cell.
She could've been in the ToP, fighting together with Gohan, introducing a Pan's-parents kamehameha, or at least some cool action as a tagteam. Although that might have been too much as we already had a couple on the roster and I wouldn't trade any member over Videl. But maybe providing some support in the Moro arc would've been nice.

But you can have her strong enough to, at least, be competitive. Earthlings improved mostly when training with certain masters (Roshi, Kami, Kaio), not so much by having been training for a long time, they have been stagnant for a long time now.
So I think it could be possible for a quick power up to happen after training with Popo, Piccolo and Gohan, then have Dende unlock her hidden potential, like Saichoro did with Krilin, on top of that add that she trains with fucking Ultimate Gohan... and if that's not enough, pretend she actually is a prodigy and while still being fodder, she can contend with the likes of Krilin and Tenshinhan. Obviously she stomps Yamcha.
I could see her breaking the human limits, considering they all kinda retired, and she would be training with god level people. Although I doubt Toriyama would want Krilin to stop being the strongest earthling, I think I read somewhere that he always loved the guy.

Pan was always treated as having huge potential, so maybe share a little bit the reason for it.

[JulieYBM]

Let's have her defeat Spopovitch. And be the second main character along with Gohan. Focus the story on Gohan and Videl. Actually have a story you want to tell, not whatever mess the Majin Buu arc turned into.

[super michael]

Let's have her defeat Spopovitch. And be the second main character along with Gohan. Focus the story on Gohan and Videl. Actually have a story you want to tell, not whatever mess the Majin Buu arc turned into.

Videl only had flying for ki control, she didn't have super strength or ki attack like Masenko. There was no way Videl could win against Spopovich.

Videl in my opinion is too weak to be a main character. Plus Videl isn't a Saiyan like Pan.

[JulieYBM]

Let's have her defeat Spopovitch. And be the second main character along with Gohan. Focus the story on Gohan and Videl. Actually have a story you want to tell, not whatever mess the Majin Buu arc turned into.

Videl only had flying for ki control, she didn't have super strength or ki attack like Masenko. There was no way Videl could win against Spopovich.

Videl in my opinion is too weak to be a main character. Plus Videl isn't a Saiyan like Pan.

Then make her not 'too weak'. It's fiction, you can do whatever you want. Justify it in-story however you like, too. Make Videl's mom an actual devil or something if you want to justify her being strong.

There's zero reason Gohan can't train Videl and her grasp on ki control flourishes rapidly. Her dad's comically inept and she's comically strong.

[Koitsukai]

Let's have her defeat Spopovitch. And be the second main character along with Gohan. Focus the story on Gohan and Videl. Actually have a story you want to tell, not whatever mess the Majin Buu arc turned into.

Videl only had flying for ki control, she didn't have super strength or ki attack like Masenko. There was no way Videl could win against Spopovich.

Videl in my opinion is too weak to be a main character. Plus Videl isn't a Saiyan like Pan.

Then make her not 'too weak'. It's fiction, you can do whatever you want. Justify it in-story however you like, too. Make Videl's mom an actual devil or something if you want to justify her being strong.

There's zero reason Gohan can't train Videl and her grasp on ki control flourishes rapidly. Her dad's comically inept and she's comically strong.

You don't need to introduce crazy new stuff, just use what has been established: her strong earthling status and give her the treatment(training) the Z gang received. She's around the same age as Krilin, Tenshinhan and Yamcha were when they got started.

The proper training (Roshi, Popo to lay down the basics, followed by Piccolo and Gohan polishing her skills) with the proper time (no way this can happen during the Buu arc), there's no reason why she cannot be as strong or even stronger than K, T or Y(who retired, too) by the time DBS arcs take place.