So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Discussion specifically regarding the "Dragon Ball Super" TV series premiering July 2015 in Japan, including individual threads for each episode.
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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by Doctor. » Sun Jun 05, 2016 5:47 pm

ekrolo2 wrote:What I want to know is: does anyone get the underlying creepy implications of this pairing on the writing side? I mean, I've seen some shit from comics but this is still a weird creative choice lol. Seems like Trunks gets em either really young (Pan) or really old (Mai).
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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by ekrolo2 » Sun Jun 05, 2016 5:48 pm

dbzfan7 wrote:
ekrolo2 wrote:What I want to know is: does anyone get the underlying creepy implications of this pairing on the writing side? I mean, I've seen some shit from comics but this is still a weird creative choice lol. Seems like Trunks gets em either really young (Pan) or really old (Mai).
Trunks is a pedophile and likes cougars. What didn't you know that about his character?
Can we add "tentacle porn aficionado" in advance when the next series, Dragon Ball Y Ultra (coming 2035!) pairs him up with the Galactic King?
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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by Big Black Sayian » Sun Jun 05, 2016 5:56 pm

ekrolo2 wrote:What I want to know is: does anyone get the underlying creepy implications of this pairing on the writing side? I mean, I've seen some shit from comics but this is still a weird creative choice lol. Seems like Trunks gets em either really young (Pan) or really old (Mai).
Well at least they're adults now.

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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by ekrolo2 » Sun Jun 05, 2016 5:59 pm

Big Black Saiyan wrote:
ekrolo2 wrote:What I want to know is: does anyone get the underlying creepy implications of this pairing on the writing side? I mean, I've seen some shit from comics but this is still a weird creative choice lol. Seems like Trunks gets em either really young (Pan) or really old (Mai).
Well at least they're adults now.
She's still 30 years (at least) older than him mentally. It's definitely better than her with the mind of a 45-year-old pining for a kid who's not even a teenager but man is it creepy still :lol:
When someone tells you, "Don't present your opinion as fact," what they're actually saying is, "Don't present your opinion with any conviction. Because I don't like your opinion, and I want to be able to dismiss it as easily as possible." Don't fall for it.

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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by SingleFringe&Sparks » Sun Jun 05, 2016 6:00 pm

Big Black Saiyan wrote:
ekrolo2 wrote:What I want to know is: does anyone get the underlying creepy implications of this pairing on the writing side? I mean, I've seen some shit from comics but this is still a weird creative choice lol. Seems like Trunks gets em either really young (Pan) or really old (Mai).
Well at least they're adults now.
I'm just bothered by how random it was. There really isn't anything that really connects them together.
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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by Lord Beerus » Sun Jun 05, 2016 6:18 pm

Mai, like Bulma's mom, at some point sold her soul to Satan to extend the length of their physical youth.

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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by ekrolo2 » Sun Jun 05, 2016 6:19 pm

Lord Beerus wrote:Mai, like Bulma's mom, at some point sold her soul to Satan to extend the length of their physical youth.
Mister Satan has to power to grant eternal youth?! Dayum son, he really is the most powerful of them all!
When someone tells you, "Don't present your opinion as fact," what they're actually saying is, "Don't present your opinion with any conviction. Because I don't like your opinion, and I want to be able to dismiss it as easily as possible." Don't fall for it.

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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by Big Black Sayian » Sun Jun 05, 2016 6:46 pm

SingleFringe&Sparks wrote: I'm just bothered by how random it was. There really isn't anything that really connects them together.
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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by Neon Z » Sun Jun 05, 2016 7:03 pm

ekrolo2 wrote:What I want to know is: does anyone get the underlying creepy implications of this pairing on the writing side? I mean, I've seen some shit from comics but this is still a weird creative choice lol. Seems like Trunks gets em either really young (Pan) or really old (Mai).
For fictional pairings like this, the apparent physical age seems to be generally considered more important the mental one. It's why you could see complaints about a character like Nowi from the Fire Emblem Awakening game being involved in romances (1000 years old dragon who looks like a girl around 12-13 years old).
Last edited by Neon Z on Sun Jun 05, 2016 7:05 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by kidhero1000 » Sun Jun 05, 2016 7:04 pm

Clearly Bulma invented an anti-aging cream and gave some to Mai. And judging by how young Tights looks despite being in her late 50s to 60s, she received a batch of it too.
He devolved into saying only one word. Time to hit the ol' cosmic trail.

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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by Cipher » Sun Jun 05, 2016 7:20 pm

SingleFringe&Sparks wrote:I'm just bothered by how random it was. There really isn't anything that really connects them together.
It's so crazy (and such a weird, unexpected payoff to the gag-pairing that began back in Battle of Gods), that I couldn't be more for it. That's how couples work in Dragon Ball.

Also Dragon Ball: Bad guys can't stop turning good.
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Jaden wrote:Can you spot the difference? :lol:
I'm still getting used to Mai no longer having blue eyes, but I think they were black in the manga.
They were always black in the manga. Even in full-color chapters. Just checked.

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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by Blackstripe » Sun Jun 05, 2016 9:40 pm

I think people are failing to consider something.

I believe they did wish to become young again in the Future Timeline. How?

Simple. Toriyama/Toei forgot that with Piccolo being killed, they no longer had any Dragon Balls and that this was the major reason for why traveling back in time was necessary in the first place. Yes, they literally forgot.

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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by Neon Z » Sun Jun 05, 2016 9:48 pm

Blackstripe wrote:I think people are failing to consider something.

I believe they did wish to become young again in the Future Timeline. How?

Simple. Toriyama/Toei forgot that with Piccolo being killed, they no longer had any Dragon Balls and that this was the major reason for why traveling back in time was necessary in the first place. Yes, they literally forgot.
If that was the case they'd have brought everyone back though. They'd need to have forgotten that they're only young due to the Dragonballs, which seems extremely unlikely, because it means they'd have forgotten that they're characters from the original Dragonball. I think they're just going with "we never established when they made that wish, so it could happen before the Androids appeared". It's the simplest choice. If you're expecting them to stop the episode to give some elaborate explanation about completely plot irrelevant events that only nitpicking fans care about you'll likely be disappointed again.

This isn't like the Kaioken thing that could be tied to the narrative. Naturally, how would Mai even bring that up in a conversation with Trunks considering their current situation? I guess there's a chance we could get something if some character from the original DB recognizes her if she goes alongside Trunks to the past though. If she doesn't go, I don't there's any chance they'll bother giving an explanation.

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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by Khin » Sun Jun 05, 2016 11:02 pm

I already said this in the other thread. But why do people think Future Mai looking the same age as Future Trunks is a big plot hole/inconsistency, did they said anything regarding when did the Pilaf Gang wished to become young again ? We don't even know how the Pilaf Gang become young again in Super. For all we know, they could've wished to become young before the Androids arrived, around Age 766. Which explains why Future Trunks and Future Mai looks the same age. Same for Present Mai and Present Trunks.

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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by Darkprince410 » Mon Jun 06, 2016 12:44 am

Khin wrote:I already said this in the other thread. But why do people think Future Mai looking the same age as Future Trunks is a big plot hole/inconsistency, did they said anything regarding when did the Pilaf Gang wished to become young again ? We don't even know how the Pilaf Gang become young again in Super. For all we know, they could've wished to become young before the Androids arrived, around Age 766. Which explains why Future Trunks and Future Mai looks the same age. Same for Present Mai and Present Trunks.
Hell, Super even supports this due to the fact that Pilaf was completely unaware of Shenlon's ability to grant multiple wishes during the Revival of F arc, at least suggesting that when he last used them, Shenlon could still only grant one

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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by MaxZ » Mon Jun 06, 2016 2:35 am

Saturnine wrote:Thing is, I had the impression that the timelines only diverged thanks to Trunks coming back through time - before the date of his arrival everything should be the same, so no wish for youth by Pilaf & the gang could have taken place.
there's 3 years after the point where the timelines diverge prior to the androids attacking in both timelines, plenty of time for the Pilaf Gang to wish for youth in Trunk's timeline

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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by Cipher » Mon Jun 06, 2016 3:12 am

Blackstripe wrote:I think people are failing to consider something.

I believe they did wish to become young again in the Future Timeline. How?

Simple. Toriyama/Toei forgot that with Piccolo being killed, they no longer had any Dragon Balls and that this was the major reason for why traveling back in time was necessary in the first place. Yes, they literally forgot.
Why are people ignoring what has been stated many times -- that the wish could simply have been made before Piccolo was killed? The series has indicated this ever since Pilaf and co. expressed surprise about Shenlong granting multiple wishes.

Non-issue.

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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by precita » Mon Jun 06, 2016 3:42 am

What doesn't make sense is the Trunks/Mai pairing was cut out of Super, so why is this suddenly a thing again? Their scenes from the Beerus movie didn't make it to the anime adaption, so why is the anime suddenly calling to it?

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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by Cipher » Mon Jun 06, 2016 3:46 am

precita wrote:What doesn't make sense is the Trunks/Mai pairing was cut out of Super, so why is this suddenly a thing again? Their scenes from the Beerus movie didn't make it to the anime adaption, so why is the anime suddenly calling to it?
I think, if anything, this just shows what a rushed mess planning scripts for the Battle of Gods arc must have been. Remember that we didn't even get an explanation for their youth in the series (which is crazy--like, we should never forget how mind-boggling sloppy that is).

Toriyama's almost certainly continuing to develop his plots from the movie versions, which he actually scripted himself. There's no way "Rewrite the Pilaf gang's involvement into an aimless mess" was his memo for the TV adaptation.

Basically, Toei messed up; watch the movies; Super is not a stand-alone product. It's not really excusable, but it is the case.
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Re: So how is Mai not middle-aged?

Post by Zenkashuu » Mon Jun 06, 2016 3:59 am

She is the (grand)daughter of Dragonball's Mai.

There you go.

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