Why were African Americans represented so poorly in DBZ

[dualist]

I don't know about the Manga, but the anime clowned us. the Character Killa in the World Tournament was terrible; they drew him with big pink lips and you coludn't even understand a word he was saying; not to mention is name was Killa!

Just goes to show the poor stereotyping of African Americans in general, but it was frustrating to see it in a show I loved so much.

[Rocketman]

Because it's Japanese.

[DBZAOTA482]

Pretty much what Rocketman. They're racially insensitive, but Killa did at least have an understandable dialect in the subbed version of the anime.

[Tyro]

There are quite a few (minor) characters in the Dragon Ball series that have big lips but aren't African.

[dbgtFO]

I wouldn't say Cell in his second form was a minor character.
Other than that there's the wolfman in his human form.

[FoolsGil]

There are more than African Americans in the world. Afro-Russian anyone? Anyone here Afro-Russian? Any Afro-Canadians maybe?

I can't answer why Toryama showed black people with big lips and poor speech. Maybe he's racist. Maybe he thought it was funny. Maybe the few black people he met who happened to be stationed in Japan had big lips and spoke bad japanese. Not too bothered by it either way.

[Gaffer Tape]

What black people in Dragon Ball had both big lips and poor speech? Mr. Popo's not black (that is to say, he's not a person of color... he is LITERALLY black). Killa doesn't talk like a moron in any version but FUNimation's dub. And I don't get why the lip thing, in and of itself, is so offensive. Larger lips are a relatively common racial trait, and as has been said, black characters aren't the only ones in DB that have that feature.

And, as FoolsGil said, African American isn't really the best term here considering there is neither an America or an Africa in Dragon Ball, and, in our world, not all people of African descent live in America.

[Blade]

Larger lips are a relatively common racial trait,

There's a difference between providing a faithful artistic rendition of a racial trait and cartoon-ifying it to an exaggerated extreme. Does Toriyama exacerbate Asian eyes? No. Caucasian noses? Again, no - so why depict Black people in such a way? Toriyama's depiction of Native Americans and Indians are also without such treatment, so one does have to consider that Toriyama held at least some racial prejudices through his depictions of Black people earlier on in the Manga. His depiction of Uub, for example, towards the end of the Manga is much less contentious.

Do I think Toriyama is a racist? No, I don't think he gave it any real second thought - Japanese attitudes towards race are quite unique and archaic, but as the Western world has changed in the past half century to be more culturally and racially sensitive I think that Dragonball shows it's age a little bit in that such negative portrayals take a snapshot of the fact that in 80's and early 90's Japan no one will have batted an eye at this sort of thing.

[KentalSSJ6]

I hope this doesent sound racist in anyway but when I first saw Uub I initially thought Uub was African and the dude was fighting on par with Goku at the tournament and hes not even 10. I thought that was pretty freaking awesome.

[NitroEX]

He was only dubbed as an idiot in the Funi dub, I guess the director or one of the actors thought it was funny?

Ocean gave him a normal voice as you can see here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy_imBEvJkk&

[Puto]

Here's a better question: Why are black people nearly universally referred to as 'African-Americans' even if they're not from America?

[Blade]

Here's a better question: Why are black people nearly universally referred to as 'African-Americans' even if they're not from America?

Because the word 'Black' is considered racially insensitive by some, especially in America, where the term 'African American' is often preferred, which in turn through cultural assimilation of American media in foreign countries has became widely known. In the United Kingdom, for example, the politically correct term is 'Black British', as opposed to 'White British' or 'British Asian'.

I agree though, it doesn't make any sense in this context.

[Adamant]

Because the word 'Black' is considered racially insensitive by some, especially in America, where the term 'African American' is often preferred, which in turn through cultural assimilation of American media in foreign countries has became widely known.

I'm pretty sure there are more black people living outside America who would get annoyed at being referred to as "African American" than there are black people in America who would get annoyed at being referred to as "black".

[Blade]

Because the word 'Black' is considered racially insensitive by some, especially in America, where the term 'African American' is often preferred, which in turn through cultural assimilation of American media in foreign countries has became widely known.

I'm pretty sure there are more black people living outside America who would get annoyed at being referred to as "African American" than there are black people in America who would get annoyed at being referred to as "black".

I don't understand your point, I was explaining the origin of the term and agreeing that using it in this case was inappropriate.

[freezamite]

Because it's Japanese.

/thread
I think there's nothing more to say, really. There are not many black people in japan so despite Toriyama drawing some of them, it's only normal that they are just a minority compared to the rest of the cast.

[Adamant]

Because the word 'Black' is considered racially insensitive by some, especially in America, where the term 'African American' is often preferred, which in turn through cultural assimilation of American media in foreign countries has became widely known.

I'm pretty sure there are more black people living outside America who would get annoyed at being referred to as "African American" than there are black people in America who would get annoyed at being referred to as "black".

I don't understand your point, I was explaining the origin of the term and agreeing that using it in this case was inappropriate.

I know. Just pointing out how silly it is for people who want to be politically correct and overly careful with what they call people to avoid offending/annoying/displeasing them to insist on calling black people "African American", a term practically every single non-American black person wouldn't be too happy about being referred to as.

[Polyphase Avatron]

Well there is no Africa and no America on Dragon World...

[superfunk]

I would hate to continue the debate that is not exactly the topic but i will. They are not american just call them black. I am from south Africa, one of the most sensitive countries when it comes to race because of apartheid, but black is politically correct here. I don't know about the poor speech but their features aren't that exaggerated. Most black people in america are coloured( politically correct term in many countries) and have many white features, Trust me most real African black guys have big flat noses and big lips that are allot lighter than their skin tone(I'm not being racist its true). I don't think Toriyama knew this or gave it much thought though.

[dualist]

I just used African American because it's the PC term of the day, but I think of myself as a black man. I agree with most of the responses here, but it was really just a thought because the dub I saw had some of the black characters depicted poorly. With that being said dragon ball is an older show/manga and the main stream media representation of black folks is typically poor overall. But this was just something I was thinking about. Not sure about what Uub's race race/ethnicity was technically, but I did like his character because it gave me someone on the show to identify with.

Anyway, appreciate the discussion.

[Gaffer Tape]

There's a difference between providing a faithful artistic rendition of a racial trait and cartoon-ifying it to an exaggerated extreme.

How is making them somewhat visible an "exaggerated extreme"? It's not like they take up half of their faces. There aren't any visual gags where someone uses them as a pillow or something. The actual black characters in the series don't resemble Sambo or act like "Uncle Toms". They just have screentoned skin and ever-so-slightly larger lips.

Does Toriyama exacerbate Asian eyes? No.

No, but a lot of current American animation does, despite the fact that terms like "squint eye" used to be used as racial slurs. But somehow people accept the fact that, yes, Asians do have epicanthic folds, and acknowledging that is not offensive. It's just the way they are. (And for arguments' sake, since there is no Asia in Dragon Ball, how can we say for certain we've ever met any "Asians" anyway?)

Toriyama's depiction of Native Americans and Indians are also without such treatment

Really? The "Native Americans" we see (again, the term makes no real sense in this context, but we'll go with it) wear skins and war paint, carry tomahawks, and live in teepees. And the "Indians" wear turbans and chant Buddhist prayers. So who gets to decide which stereotypes are harmless and which aren't?