EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by Araki » Fri May 20, 2016 7:13 pm

The main problem with EoB making Bardock so special, is that it would turn Goku into yet another shonen main character "destined to greatness", the ones who always have legendary genealogy, special inner powers or other powerful entity inside them, whatever. You know, like Naruto, Ichigo, Luffy, Gon, Yusuke, Eren...90% shonen leads are like that, we rarely get an actual hard worker underdog. Even when the story wants you to think they are an underdog at first, they often end up being someone oh so special. Naruto is the worst offender here, easily.

I don't see EoB as anything more than a game tie-in, though.
Lord Beerus wrote:And Bardock is still a mass murdering, battle loving, space pirate. He just happens to give a shit about his family. And for many years, he and Gine took part in mass genocide of countless species, while wilfully working for an evil galactic overlord. They aren't good people no matter how fans may interpret their actions in Minus, and I'm pretty sure the both of them are rotting in hell.
Yeah, as much as i think Minus is Toriyama messing with things he should leave alone, the fact Bardock cared for his family doesn't change how he lived. It just makes him a Cersei.

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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by HeroR » Fri May 20, 2016 7:46 pm

Araki wrote:The main problem with EoB making Bardock so special, is that it would turn Goku into yet another shonen main character "destined to greatness", the ones who always have legendary genealogy, special inner powers or other powerful entity inside them, whatever. You know, like Naruto, Ichigo, Luffy, Gon, Yusuke, Eren...90% shonen leads are like that, we rarely get an actual hard worker underdog. Even when the story wants you to think they are an underdog at first, they often end up being someone oh so special. Naruto is the worst offender here, easily.

I don't see EoB as anything more than a game tie-in, though.
Lord Beerus wrote:And Bardock is still a mass murdering, battle loving, space pirate. He just happens to give a shit about his family. And for many years, he and Gine took part in mass genocide of countless species, while wilfully working for an evil galactic overlord. They aren't good people no matter how fans may interpret their actions in Minus, and I'm pretty sure the both of them are rotting in hell.
Yeah, as much as i think Minus is Toriyama messing with things he should leave alone, the fact Bardock cared for his family doesn't change how he lived. It just makes him a Cersei.
I am going have to disagree with the first part. Goku is special. The whole, underdog who came into greatness through hard work, was more or less thrown away by the Namek Saga and never looked back. Vegeta calls Goku gifted and a genius during the Cell Games and says that Goku has an inner talent that he lacks, which is why he allowed Babidi to turn himself into a Majin. In Battle of Gods he had Beerus calling him a rare prodigy. The only times Goku really played the underdog was during the Saiyan Saga and against Freeza, who was the prodigy who never had to train for his power. Other than those times, Goku has always been the most gifted fighter outside of his sons and present Trunks.

There is also the underline fact that a Super Saiyan, all things considering, is not that special since you only need to be a certain power level and be angry enough to become one. In other words, Super Saiyan was always overrated once you realized that the requirements for becoming one doesn't require you to be the Chosen One.

Also, as an One Piece fan, Luffy is not a straight example of bloodline equal greatness. In fact, the entire premise of One Piece is how your blood family doesn't make you who you are and how great you become is not only a choice, you have to put real effect into it. Luffy didn't know or care who his father is and almost all his power comes from hard work and the strength of those around him, and Ace is actually haunted by who his father was. Also, Eren from Attack on Titan isn't really special compared to other people who have powers similar to him. In fact, he only got as far as he did because he's surrounded by people who are more talented than him.

With all that said, what makes Goku different compared to other shonen heroes is that he is special, despite his parents. He is the son of a lower class warrior and a pacifist mother. Why Goku has such amazing power when his parents are 'trash' is what makes him amazing and what drives Vegeta so crazy for most of Z. With all that said, no shonen hero is a real Cinderella story despite what many fans what to believe. The closest thing to such would be Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin and that's because who know crap about his family.

In the end, neither EOB or Minus, hurts Goku's character, unless you are one of those people who think lineage makes the hero. Goku doesn't know or care who his parents are, so what they are doesn't effect Goku as a character since he is who he is as he will be quick to tell you.

On the subject of Gine and Bardock, I think what Minus has done is simply made the Saiyans a little more complex than mustache twirling villains. They are still bad people who have done many evil things, but they still have some care for their kinsmen, which is seen in the original TV Special when Bardock tried to avenge his falling comrades and even with Nappa who at least suggested Raditz could be revived with the Dragon Balls. So Minus didn't really add anything new, except there were pacifist Saiyans who weren't fit the fight and Tarble pre-dated Gine by several years, so even that wasn't new information.
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Goku barely took a backseat in the Buu saga, at best he took a leisurely stroll round back while everyone else cried for him to come back.

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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by Grimlock » Fri May 20, 2016 8:15 pm

HeroR wrote:In the end, neither EOB or Minus, hurts Goku's character, unless you are one of those people who think lineage makes the hero. Goku doesn't know or care who his parents are, so what they are doesn't effect Goku as a character since he is who he is as he will be quick to tell you.
Totally this. The fact Goku bumped his head "disconnects" him of his parents, no matter what they were and what they did. Goku still achieved everything with hard work and because of his goodness (personality that came from his accident), which is exactly why Raditz is just a Saiyan in the middle of a bunch. None of those midias affect Goku.
Also, I'd like to point out that Bardock caring for his son came from Dragon Ball Online, not Dragon Ball Minus.

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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by DBZ_323 » Sat May 21, 2016 1:44 am

Goku was a prodigy long before he was a low class. In Dragon Ball, Goku was always unnaturally strong compared to humans, it was only when he was compared to other saiyans was he weak (which he was and which he overcame, regardless of his background). And his family was always special, 2 of them just so happened to be 2 of only 4 survivors of their race? And their father could see the future and that had NOTHING to do with their survival? That's definitely destiny.

And DBM makes more sense to me than the original story, which always confused me. How was Goku supposed to remember to conquer Earth if he was only 2 days old in the first place, doesn't even matter if he' lost his memory did he? And why didn't Frieza send someone to kill Goku if Goku was on official records anyways? It makes much more sense for Goku to be a 3 year old with actual memories to lose and to have been sent to Earth in secret.
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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by coola » Sat May 21, 2016 11:11 am

Copy and paste from my "Twist in Goku vs Vegeta rivalry" topic:

"By putting enough effort, low class can defeat elite"

Episode of Bardock completely changed my view in Goku rivalry, everytime Goku beat his rival, he outclass him later so much, that everyone says "He is in different dimension now, no need to even try" and then..Vegeta appeared, proud Saiyan Prince, who refused to be beaten by "low-class trash" and everytime Goku surpassed him, he just kept training, even going as far, as sold his soul to devil for more power. Even after he admitted "Kakarotto, you are truly No. 1" he kept training, and finally, at "F" Movie, he become Goku equal! Proud Saiyan Prince, thanks to his determination, managed to become as strong, as descendant of 1st Super Saiyan in history, Bardock! Ironically, both of them believe it is otherway around, if they somehow someday managed to meet Bardock in Hell/Heaven, revelation might completely changed what both Goku and Vegeta believed their whole life! :shock:

Please, no "Episode of Bardock is non canon" it was animated by Toei, and even Bardock himself is very popular character. So i like to think of it, as part of anime canon at least :)
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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by DBZGTKOSDH » Sat May 21, 2016 11:37 am

I can't understand how EoB makes Goku any less special. Goku is still a really weak Saiyan up until he trained with Kaio, and he eventually reached the level he reached in the end of the series thanks to his hard work. Bardock, like Goku, didn't become a Super Saiyan because he was special. Like Goku, he started from below, and because he was fighting for all of his life and managed to stay alive he became so strong, and eventually became a Super Saiyan.
James Teal (Animerica 1996) wrote:When you think about it, there are a number of similarities between the Chinese-inspired Son Goku and that most American of superhero icons, Superman. Both are aliens sent to Earth shortly after birth to escape the destruction of their homeworlds; both possess super-strength, flight, super-speed, heightened senses and the ability to cast energy blasts. But the crucial difference between them lies not only in how they view the world, but in how the world views them.

Superman is, and always has been, a symbol for truth, justice, and upstanding moral fortitude–a role model and leader as much as a fighter. The more down-to-earth Goku has no illusions about being responsible for maintaining social order, or for setting some kind of moral example for the entire world. Goku is simply a martial artist who’s devoted his life toward perfecting his fighting skills and other abilities. Though never shy about risking his life to save either one person or the entire world, he just doesn’t believe that the balance of the world rests in any way on his shoulders, and he has no need to shape any part of it in his image. Goku is an idealist, and believes that there is some good in everyone, but he is unconcerned with the big picture of the world…unless it has to do with some kind of fight. Politics, society, law and order don’t have much bearing on his life, but he’s a man who knows right from wrong.

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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by Hellspawn28 » Sat May 21, 2016 12:42 pm

sintzu wrote:
Hellspawn28 wrote:Goku had similarities to Superman before DB- and no one really cared.
The only thing he had in common with him was the loving adoptive father who raised him but unlike Superman he was sent to earth to destroy it and didn't have loving parents but in Minus he has loving parents and they sent him away to protect him from the planet's destruction which is exactly like Superman being sent away by his loving parents to escape Krypton's destruction.
Goku has been view as the anime/manga of Superman before DB- existed. Both were sent to a Planet before their home world was destroy, both their fathers try to warn the destruction of the Planet and no one listen. Both were adopted as a baby on Earth and didn't know that they were aliens until they got older. Goku even finds out that he is four surviving members of his race (Goku, Radditz, Nappa and Vegeta) similar to Superman, Zod, Ursa and Non.

Bardock was shown killing aliens in DB-, so he is still enjoys killing for fun. People who love murder, can still care about other people. Look at Al Simmons as Spawn for example. I would imagine Goku would still try to kill people on Earth if he didn't hit his head since it's apart of his Saiyan nature.
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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by Grimlock » Sat May 21, 2016 12:50 pm

Eh, I'm pretty sure Saiyans killed other races because of Freeza's organization, not for fun.

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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by Hellspawn28 » Sat May 21, 2016 1:28 pm

They took over Planet Plant by killing off the Tsufurusian. They most likely did enjoy killing for fun before Freeza show up.
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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by Araki » Sat May 21, 2016 3:26 pm

HeroR wrote:I am going have to disagree with the first part. Goku is special. The whole, underdog who came into greatness through hard work, was more or less thrown away by the Namek Saga and never looked back. Vegeta calls Goku gifted and a genius during the Cell Games and says that Goku has an inner talent that he lacks, which is why he allowed Babidi to turn himself into a Majin. In Battle of Gods he had Beerus calling him a rare prodigy. The only times Goku really played the underdog was during the Saiyan Saga and against Freeza, who was the prodigy who never had to train for his power. Other than those times, Goku has always been the most gifted fighter outside of his sons and present Trunks.
But see, that's different. Being a prodigy, a fighting genius, isn't the same as if he had a father who was the legendary Super Saiyajin and Goku had it in his blood all along. Those are two very different things. And we always knew Goku was a genius when it comes to fighting, it's part of his character.
Maybe the insane training he went through going to Namek, the desperate situation he was undergoing there, we would have seen all that - and the impact those things had on his transformation - in a different light if we knew his father was a Super Saiyajin first.

Slam Dunk's Sakuragi Hanamichi is another perfect example of how an underdog can be a natural genius and still be an underdog.
Also, as an One Piece fan, Luffy is not a straight example of bloodline equal greatness. In fact, the entire premise of One Piece is how your blood family doesn't make you who you are and how great you become is not only a choice, you have to put real effect into it. Luffy didn't know or care who his father is and almost all his power comes from hard work and the strength of those around him, and Ace is actually haunted by who his father was.
Luffy's grandfather is a legendary Marine hero, his father is the most wanted man in the world, his deceased brother was son of the pirate king, his another brother is the #2 Revolutionary and one of the strongest men in the world. He was trained by the pirate king's legendary right hand man. He's a protégé of one of the four most powerful pirates and an Emperor. The so-called most beautiful woman in the world fell in love and wants to marry Luffy.
Luffy had Gold Roger's Straw hat from day one and we're often reminded he's following the same path, going through similar developments and to the same places Roger went.
I mean, really..as much as i love One Piece, it's hard to deny Luffy fits the "destined to greatness" trope. (which isn't all about genealogy, as a i said, that's just one possible part of it). He's even a D, one of the few people destined to shake the world! Even in the fanbase there were often discussions about him becoming too much of a Gary Stu. Luffy being aware or not isn't the point.
Also, Eren from Attack on Titan isn't really special compared to other people who have powers similar to him. In fact, he only got as far as he did because he's surrounded by people who are more talented than him.
Yeah, but if not for the fact they put a titan inside him, he would be just the average soldier. That's what made him special in the first place.
In the end, neither EOB or Minus, hurts Goku's character, unless you are one of those people who think lineage makes the hero. Goku doesn't know or care who his parents are, so what they are doesn't effect Goku as a character since he is who he is as he will be quick to tell you.
..why would i think that? I said exactly the opposite, that Goku is a great main character because he didn't come from any special lineage. And again, being a "chosen one" isn't limited to genealogy, as i pointed out twice, and just again with the Luffy situations.

I think you're not getting that the main character knowing or caring what their parents were is completely irrelevant if he was just following a path he was destined to follow or was born special. That's not what's being discussed.

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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by HeroR » Sat May 21, 2016 5:25 pm

Araki wrote:
HeroR wrote:I am going have to disagree with the first part. Goku is special. The whole, underdog who came into greatness through hard work, was more or less thrown away by the Namek Saga and never looked back. Vegeta calls Goku gifted and a genius during the Cell Games and says that Goku has an inner talent that he lacks, which is why he allowed Babidi to turn himself into a Majin. In Battle of Gods he had Beerus calling him a rare prodigy. The only times Goku really played the underdog was during the Saiyan Saga and against Freeza, who was the prodigy who never had to train for his power. Other than those times, Goku has always been the most gifted fighter outside of his sons and present Trunks.
But see, that's different. Being a prodigy, a fighting genius, isn't the same as if he had a father who was the legendary Super Saiyajin and Goku had it in his blood all along. Those are two very different things. And we always knew Goku was a genius when it comes to fighting, it's part of his character.
Maybe the insane training he went through going to Namek, the desperate situation he was undergoing there, we would have seen all that - and the impact those things had on his transformation - in a different light if we knew his father was a Super Saiyajin first.

Slam Dunk's Sakuragi Hanamichi is another perfect example of how an underdog can be a natural genius and still be an underdog.
Also, as an One Piece fan, Luffy is not a straight example of bloodline equal greatness. In fact, the entire premise of One Piece is how your blood family doesn't make you who you are and how great you become is not only a choice, you have to put real effect into it. Luffy didn't know or care who his father is and almost all his power comes from hard work and the strength of those around him, and Ace is actually haunted by who his father was.
Luffy's grandfather is a legendary Marine hero, his father is the most wanted man in the world, his deceased brother was son of the pirate king, his another brother is the #2 Revolutionary and one of the strongest men in the world. He was trained by the pirate king's legendary right hand man. He's a protégé of one of the four most powerful pirates and an Emperor. The so-called most beautiful woman in the world fell in love and wants to marry Luffy.
Luffy had Gold Roger's Straw hat from day one and we're often reminded he's following the same path, going through similar developments and to the same places Roger went.
I mean, really..as much as i love One Piece, it's hard to deny Luffy fits the "destined to greatness" trope. (which isn't all about genealogy, as a i said, that's just one possible part of it). He's even a D, one of the few people destined to shake the world! Even in the fanbase there were often discussions about him becoming too much of a Gary Stu. Luffy being aware or not isn't the point.
Also, Eren from Attack on Titan isn't really special compared to other people who have powers similar to him. In fact, he only got as far as he did because he's surrounded by people who are more talented than him.
Yeah, but if not for the fact they put a titan inside him, he would be just the average soldier. That's what made him special in the first place.
In the end, neither EOB or Minus, hurts Goku's character, unless you are one of those people who think lineage makes the hero. Goku doesn't know or care who his parents are, so what they are doesn't effect Goku as a character since he is who he is as he will be quick to tell you.
..why would i think that? I said exactly the opposite, that Goku is a great main character because he didn't come from any special lineage. And again, being a "chosen one" isn't limited to genealogy, as i pointed out twice, and just again with the Luffy situations.

I think you're not getting that the main character knowing or caring what their parents were is completely irrelevant if he was just following a path he was destined to follow or was born special. That's not what's being discussed.

I really don't see the different between someone born a genius, and someone who parents happened to be geniuses, so their child is born brilliance. To me, you basically get the same thing, except in one case you can pretend that they're the underdog, or they're so special despite their genes being 'trash'. To me, an underdog would be someone like Rock Lee, his teacher Guy, Guts from Berserker (not a. shonen I know), or Saitama from One Punch Man. A person who is not born particularly talented, and may even have a handicap, but through handwork and determination makes something of themselves and surpasses those who are born naturally gifted. I don't consider someone an underdog who is born brilliance, regardless of what their bloodline is.

Also, Luffy's grandfather maybe a legendary marine and his father is the leader of the revolutionaries, but Luffy didn't know none of these things and his grandfather didn't really train him except putting him in hear death situations. Ace and Sabo don't really relate since they're not even blood related, and Sabo's situation is unique for several reasons. The other stuff you named happened because of Luffy's character, not his blood. That is like complaining that Goku was trained under two of the world greatest martial artists (and Master Roshi partly trained him because he was Gohan's grandson), then god, then another god, and then god's more powerful assistance. It's obvious that Goku was born for greatness if you look at his situation, the only real different between Goku and Luffy is that Luffy's grandfather and father happened to be great people, while Goku's parents were low to average. Also, Luffy being a Gary Stu is just hilarious given that Luffy doesn't give two craps about that stuff and would have reached for the stars even if he was related to the drunk on the streets. It seemed to be a western thing where we want the heroes to be completely self-made, regardless if parentage actually hold any real meaning or not.

Eren is average and the only reason he had a Titan put into him was because of his dad happened to know more about what is going in the story. Honestly, his cousin fits more with the typical shonen hero along with Levi. Eren just happened to get lucky and runs on being hot blooded.

Also, even before Minus, Goku greatness was hinted upon in the first TV Special where Bardock's final vision was Goku fighting Freeze and Vegeta all but called Goku the Chosen One to become a Super Saiyan and beat Freeza. So you can argued that Goku was 'following' destiny's path up until the Freeza Saga. Which is really no different than other shonen heroes, except the Chosen One aspect is greatly downplayed. And Goku's days being a Super Saiyan doesn't really effect anything because, as I pointed out, any Saiyan can become one. You only need to be a certain power and mad enough, and Bardock had a power level closed of 10, 000 when he died. So it isn't like Bardock being special, or at least different compared to other low class Saiyans, is something new. It was there in the original material. In fact, Toriyama made Bardock less special since, according to him, Bardock could never become a mid-tier Saiyan.
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Goku barely took a backseat in the Buu saga, at best he took a leisurely stroll round back while everyone else cried for him to come back.

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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by Grimlock » Sat May 21, 2016 5:55 pm

Hellspawn28 wrote:They took over Planet Plant by killing off the Tsufurusian. They most likely did enjoy killing for fun before Freeza show up.
It's a fairly assumption, but still an assumption. We don't know why Saiyans wiped out the Tuffle race.
HeroR wrote: In fact, Toriyama made Bardock less special since, according to him, Bardock could never become a mid-tier Saiyan.
Toriyama never said that. It was just said that he's in upper level as far as a low-class Saiyan could go, but still was not enough to become a mid-class. It all comes down to "be enough", not "never".

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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by Luso Saiyan » Mon May 23, 2016 6:20 am

Saikyo no Senshi wrote:In EOB, Bardock is the Super Saiyan of legend and this undermines Gokuu's character.
No, EoB has nothing to do with Goku, nor does it claim that Bardock is the Super Saiyan of legend (it merely opens the possibility).
Saikyo no Senshi wrote:If we go by EOB Gokuu always was supposed to be strong because it was in his blood.
Wrong. Nothing in EoB makes any connection between power and blood. In fact, it's based on the premiss that Bardock was a low-class Saiyan. EoB doesn't change the fact that Goku was indeed weak for a Saiyan, and that his power improvements have nothing to do with his blood.
Saikyo no Senshi wrote:He wasn't a low class scum who achieved everything because of his hardwork and determination.
Yes he was. As seen in DB. And as established in the series, power levels and Saiyan classes are meaningless.

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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by SingleFringe&Sparks » Mon May 23, 2016 3:46 pm

Minus is slightly worse for me because of its retcons rather than EOB's fanservice. However if Goku was destined to be one himself, then it completely inverts Vegeta's entire belief system in the same way this 'destiny retcon' did to ruining Naruto. It only makes Goku more of a Gary-Stu now for his absolute guarantee that he'll get whatever new form comes out based on his elevated status rather than it being something he figures out because of his character and beliefs that differ fro, Vegeta's like it used to. The only thing I thought they should have retconed was that needing a "pure heart" thing for a transformation because Saiyans have always contradicted it. The weak ones tend to be the most pacifistic, naive and kind, yet they are weak because of it. So how would Goku and Bardock get stronger just because of it?

While Minus' my only issue is just with Gine. Shes the only one that really distorts Goku's character if he inherited his pure heart from her and not from just from his head concussion. I overall don't like her characterization of being soft innocent and her love for Bardock and Goku (fuck Raditz apparently) being the special thing that made Goku good just seems like a disservice against the tone of the series to me and doesn't fit in it (because Toriyama then said that Goku and Vegeta like their wives because of their temper being attractive to Saiyan's natural battle thirst, yet Gine was not at all outcasted or loathed for being completely the opposite).

Ironically from the writing, I would have expected Minus to be the fanfic from a stereotypical shipper's perspective on the series, and Toriyama to be the one to do EOB but thats just funny, personal irony.
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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by FoolsGil » Mon May 23, 2016 8:01 pm

Episode of Bardock did not hurt Goku in any way whatsoever. Vegeta mentioned a legend once. Whether it was Bardock due to stupid time travel for some reason, or another Saiyan, nothing actually changes for Vegeta's knowledge on the legend, or Goku as a person.

DB Minus on the other hand, holy hell. Superman parallels, Raditz is effectively killed because of a huge misunderstanding so he loses a brother, and overall just raises more questions than it answers, and it retcons Goku's age so Jaco the Galactic Patrolman and Battle of Gods can conveniently work in the timeline, no matter how you feel about those stories and characters involved. Only good thing out of it is that we know who Goku's mom is, but this small chapter hurts Goku's character.

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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by Mewzard » Wed May 25, 2016 11:43 pm

FoolsGil wrote:Episode of Bardock did not hurt Goku in any way whatsoever. Vegeta mentioned a legend once. Whether it was Bardock due to stupid time travel for some reason, or another Saiyan, nothing actually changes for Vegeta's knowledge on the legend, or Goku as a person.

DB Minus on the other hand, holy hell. Superman parallels, Raditz is effectively killed because of a huge misunderstanding so he loses a brother, and overall just raises more questions than it answers, and it retcons Goku's age so Jaco the Galactic Patrolman and Battle of Gods can conveniently work in the timeline, no matter how you feel about those stories and characters involved. Only good thing out of it is that we know who Goku's mom is, but this small chapter hurts Goku's character.
We've had Superman parallels since the Saiyans were introduced (that said, I don't remember Bardock being a scientist who discovered his planet's pending destruction through research, nor do I recall Jor-El murdering people for his job), that's nothing new.

Yeah, Raditz' whole ordeal is quite interesting. Raditz had a fundamental misunderstanding about his family (or he's a jerk and was just messing with Goku), and that got passed to Goku. Goku would think his parents were just as bad as other Saiyans he met/heard of, despite their love for their son (I mean, Bardock still kills people, but he misses out on the nuance). It changes the particular tragedy of Goku's origin, but still has one.

As for Goku's age, that was amuses me. Goku was three years old when he was sent from Vegeta, while Bulma was five at the end of Jaco, meaning Goku was actually right about his age originally when he said 14 vs Bulma's 16. That one really amuses me. Maybe he was able to tell instinctually gauge his age when even Gohan didn't know (with Saiyan physiology having Saiyans age differently than humans, this isn't that surprising, Goku looked like a kid for a long time).

I don't think any of that hurts Goku's character.
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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by DonAce » Thu May 26, 2016 4:04 pm

Well, I think a lot already undermines his character aside from this content. After all, not being born an elite but growing stronger through effort alone is a great lesson. However, by being born a Saiyan he already is born an elite considering we never see any other race even keep up. As a child Goku was surpassing everyone left and right, and that's because he was a part of a prodigous species, so at the time, there was already some holes in that lesson. Then you get Radditz telling Goku that he's sent to earth due to his low battle power, which is really interesting, but now we find out he was sent to Earth to prosper and thrive? Fuck off, Toriyama. EoB isn't so bad to Goku's character, all it did was show Bardock as a Super Saiyan, it doesn't change that Goku was a low battle power reject. I think the bigger issue here is what it does to Bardock's character. These two pieces of content don't mess with Goku's character too much, just his back story and the themes of the Saiyan arc. However, it's pretty disastrous to Bardock, considering we start with an absolute tragic hard ass who couldn't care less about his child, to a hero who basically gets what he wanted, to a nice family man whose lookin' out for his boy.

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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by SingleFringe&Sparks » Thu Jun 02, 2016 10:34 pm

DBZ_323 wrote:Goku was a prodigy long before he was a low class. In Dragon Ball, Goku was always unnaturally strong compared to humans, it was only when he was compared to other saiyans was he weak (which he was and which he overcame, regardless of his background). And his family was always special, 2 of them just so happened to be 2 of only 4 survivors of their race? And their father could see the future and that had NOTHING to do with their survival? That's definitely destiny.
Goku isnt a prodigy among humans because he isn't human. All Saiyans are at base stronger than most humans. Raditz isn't special at all, he was just brought in to inform Goku about his ties to the Saiyans, and Bardock was made "special" because he was highlighted as Goku's Father. He isn't (supposed to be) special among his race either. He was just in a relevant focus. Bardock seeing the future wasn't intended to be the reason why Goku would survive. He was originally sent to take over the Earth regardless. Minus retconed Goku into being 'special' among the Saiyans now.
DBZ_323 wrote:And DBM makes more sense to me than the original story, which always confused me. How was Goku supposed to remember to conquer Earth if he was only 2 days old in the first place, doesn't even matter if he' lost his memory did he? And why didn't Frieza send someone to kill Goku if Goku was on official records anyways? It makes much more sense for Goku to be a 3 year old with actual memories to lose and to have been sent to Earth in secret.
I do agree that the framing of Minus makes more sense, because Goku was sent to Earth with nothing in the original story. No scouter, no armour, no combat experience, and a new born. Most likely they just relied on the Oozaru form? But all the head-scratchers in the original concept are just technicalities. yes Minus fixed that at its ending, and it does make more sense for Goku to have memories to lose rather than his head-injury making him dumb and naive as we were told. I don't like it, but it, does make more sense. I just don't like the reasoning behind Bardock + Gine.
Zephyr wrote:The fandom's collective fetishizing of "moments" is also ridiculous to me. No, not everyone needs a fucking "shine" moment. If that's all you want, then all you want is fanservice, rather than an actual coherent story. And of course those aren't mutually exclusive; you could have a coherent story with "shine" moments! But if a story is perfectly coherent (and I'm really not seeing any compelling arguments that this one is anything but, despite constantly recurring, really poorly reasoned, attempts to argue otherwise), and you're bemoaning the lack of "shine" moments as a reason for the story's poor quality, then you're letting your thirst for "shine" moments obfuscate your ability to detect basic storytelling when it's right in front of you.

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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by RedRibbonSoldier#42 » Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:15 pm

Goku isnt a prodigy among humans because he isn't human.
Until Raditz showed up, everyone in the story and reading the series thought he was human, and he was depicted as super powerful from the very first chapter. Gokuu was never a low class fighter. Vegeta thought he was for an arc, but then Gokuu quickly became stronger than any saiyan before.

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Re: EOB or DB MINUS? Which hurt Gokuu's character more?

Post by Kuririn Fan » Fri Jun 03, 2016 5:00 am

RedRibbonSoldier#42 wrote:
Goku isnt a prodigy among humans because he isn't human.
Until Raditz showed up, everyone in the story and reading the series thought he was human, and he was depicted as super powerful from the very first chapter. Gokuu was never a low class fighter. Vegeta thought he was for an arc, but then Gokuu quickly became stronger than any saiyan before.
I thought he was always low class fighter, but through hard work surpassed even the elite ones?

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