Is the Dragonball cast too large?

[ABED]

That doesn't necessitate them being killed off, but if the writers can't give them something interesting to do, they are taking up space.

I think keeping characters relevant in a meaningful way is not only a hard thing for DB but other shows in general. In order to do so the arcs always have to be long and full of characters which might end up seeming forced just to give the characters screentime instead of being long because they need to be.

I don't think it's any harder than good writing is in general. I'm not quite sure what to make of your point. It's too abstract. Any examples?

[sintzu]

I'm not quite sure what to make of your point. It's too abstract. Any examples?

Some stories work better on a smaller scale and trying to pack them full of characters and plot points just to give everyone something to do can ruin them. Tournaments for example are a great way to give everyone something to do cause it makes sense for them to be long and full of fighters but trying to have the same amount of characters in the Black arc for example might've bogged it down.

Naruto (and DB) function like this where the amount of charaters used depends on the situation unlike One Piece where every arc has to be full of characters for Luffy's crew and whoever he meets at the time to deal with.

Both types of writing have problems, with Naruto and DB's method, characters can go very long periods of time not doing anything (I should've thought about this in my first post) while One Piece's makes them feel forced in some cases which makes balancing a large group of characters a hard thing to do, regardless of the method of writing that is used.

You could say they shouldn't introduce many characters in the first place but that also has a problem, you end up with the same characters forever.

[ABED]

Some stories work better on a smaller scale and trying to pack them full of characters and plot points just to give everyone something to do can ruin them.

Another way of putting this is the writers bite off more than they can chew. I don't think it's a matter of scale, though. Not every character is needed in every episode and every arc. It's the quality of the minutes, not the quantity.

One of the smartest decisions YYH made was to have Kuwabara sit out the final arc. Given the stakes and the setting, it didn't make much sense to have Kuwabara in the final arc. But the reasons they gave made sense for the character and gave his arc a nice ending.

[sintzu]

Another way of putting this is the writers bite off more than they can chew. I don't think it's a matter of scale, though. Not every character is needed in every episode and every arc. It's the quality of the minutes, not the quantity.

One of the smartest decisions YYH made was to have Kuwabara sit out the final arc. Given the stakes and the setting, it didn't make much sense to have Kuwabara in the final arc. But the reasons they gave made sense for the character and gave his arc a nice ending.

Pretty much this.

I think he could've fit somehow like trying to pick which side of his 3 friends to take but due to how short it was, they made the right choice.

[ABED]

The issue wasn't that it was short. They could've made it longer to accommodate Kuwabara, but he's not a demon. Putting him in that story didn't make sense.

[Shinda Forever]

I'm not quite sure what to make of your point. It's too abstract. Any examples?

Some stories work better on a smaller scale and trying to pack them full of characters and plot points just to give everyone something to do can ruin them. Tournaments for example are a great way to give everyone something to do cause it makes sense for them to be long and full of fighters but trying to have the same amount of characters in the Black arc for example might've bogged it down.

Naruto (and DB) function like this where the amount of charaters used depends on the situation unlike One Piece where every arc has to be full of characters for Luffy's crew and whoever he meets at the time to deal with.

Both types of writing have problems, with Naruto and DB's method, characters can go very long periods of time not doing anything (I should've thought about this in my first post) while One Piece's makes them feel forced in some cases which makes balancing a large group of characters a hard thing to do, regardless of the method of writing that is used.

You could say they shouldn't introduce many characters in the first place but that also has a problem, you end up with the same characters forever.

Naruto doesn't have the same method as dragon ball. They are completely different series.
First of all, part 1 had much more success than part 2 with more characters.
Sasuke's rescue arc was the pinnacle of Naruto, because, they had a team of guys fighting to save him and each one of them had a great fight.

Afterwards, everything was all about Sasuke and Naruto, the series became weak, repetitive and the ratings were way down, the Hyugas and the byakugan were forgotten and everything was about the sharingan. Rinnegan was not an individual dojutsu, but, a result of two bloodlines and therefore, a fraud since no clan possessed him.

Now, they have that crappy shitty show about Boruto with zero ratings, where the byakugan was somehow replaced by the Tenseigan. Boruto is a Naruto's clone which is ridiculous since he should have Hyuga's eyes to be different, but, Kishimoto had to erase the byakugan in the next generation. This kind of silly fanboy approach destroys a product and now nobody cares about Naruto/Boruto.

[sintzu]

Now, they have that crappy shitty show about Boruto with zero ratings.

I've been keeping up with it (not watching it yet) to see where they're going and as of now it seems like they have no clue whatsoever. Both the anime and manga seem like they're trying to buy time for...something but as of now what that is isn't clear.

When it was announced I thought it would be like Super where the author continues the story in anime format but close to 15 episodes in and that doesn't seem to be the case.

In terms of Shippuden, if it was doing so bad then it wouldn't have reached 500 episodes and from what I read it was a very high rated show. I do agree that it became too focused on Naruto and Sasuke though.

[Shinda Forever]

Now, they have that crappy shitty show about Boruto with zero ratings.

I've been keeping up with it (not watching it yet) to see where they're going and as of now it seems like they have no clue whatsoever. Both the anime and manga seem like they're trying to buy time for...something but as of now what that is isn't clear.

When it was announced I thought it would be like Super where the author continues the story in anime format but close to 15 episodes in and that doesn't seem to be the case.

In terms of Shippuden, if it was doing so bad then it wouldn't have reached 500 episodes and from what I read it was a very high rated show. I do agree that it became too focused on Naruto and Sasuke though.

In terms of Shippuden, it did badly after awhile, it reached 500 episodes, because, it worked as a merchandise anime.

[DragonBallKing]

I'm not quite sure what to make of your point. It's too abstract. Any examples?

Some stories work better on a smaller scale and trying to pack them full of characters and plot points just to give everyone something to do can ruin them. Tournaments for example are a great way to give everyone something to do cause it makes sense for them to be long and full of fighters but trying to have the same amount of characters in the Black arc for example might've bogged it down.

Naruto (and DB) function like this where the amount of charaters used depends on the situation unlike One Piece where every arc has to be full of characters for Luffy's crew and whoever he meets at the time to deal with.

Both types of writing have problems, with Naruto and DB's method, characters can go very long periods of time not doing anything (I should've thought about this in my first post) while One Piece's makes them feel forced in some cases which makes balancing a large group of characters a hard thing to do, regardless of the method of writing that is used.

You could say they shouldn't introduce many characters in the first place but that also has a problem, you end up with the same characters forever.

Naruto doesn't have the same method as dragon ball. They are completely different series.
First of all, part 1 had much more success than part 2 with more characters.
Sasuke's rescue arc was the pinnacle of Naruto, because, they had a team of guys fighting to save him and each one of them had a great fight.

Afterwards, everything was all about Sasuke and Naruto, the series became weak, repetitive and the ratings were way down, the Hyugas and the byakugan were forgotten and everything was about the sharingan. Rinnegan was not an individual dojutsu, but, a result of two bloodlines and therefore, a fraud since no clan possessed him.

Now, they have that crappy shitty show about Boruto with zero ratings, where the byakugan was somehow replaced by the Tenseigan. Boruto is a Naruto's clone which is ridiculous since he should have Hyuga's eyes to be different, but, Kishimoto had to erase the byakugan in the next generation. This kind of silly fanboy approach destroys a product and now nobody cares about Naruto/Boruto.

Pretty much my opinion on Naruto. ATM

[ABED]

While they didn't contribute too much to the story, memorable moments like the Z team trying to help Gohan fight Cell and thinking about how much they love Goku and his son are the kind of moments that leave a lasting impression. That's what I think DB could use more of from its supporting cast.

[sintzu]

While they didn't contribute too much to the story, memorable moments like the Z team trying to help Gohan fight Cell and thinking about how much they love Goku and his son are the kind of moments that leave a lasting impression. That's what I think DB could use more of from its supporting cast.

Original DB's writing as a whole (from character interactions to character reactions) felt very natural thanks to moments like that, it was a scene that you'd expect to see during that situation. It's something I really miss from back then that I'd love to see Super bring back.

Another scene is everyone talking to each other while Trunks was dealing with Freeza, it's something that we probably wouldn't have gotten now if that arc was made today. It's the small things that really brought DB to life.

[ABED]

Absolutely. Hell, I think it's the small moments that make something go from good to great.

[Jinzoningen MULE]

For the type of stories Toriyama's currently writing, current arc notwithstanding, the cast is too big.

[ABED]

I haven't seen Super but how much of the cast is in these arcs? Even with a big cast, you can cycle characters in and out. Bulma and Kuririn and Yamcha weren't in the whole RRA arc.

[Jinzoningen MULE]

I haven't seen Super but how much of the cast is in these arcs? Even with a big cast, you can cycle characters in and out. Bulma and Kuririn and Yamcha weren't in the whole RRA arc.

Goku and Vegeta were the only useful participants in the U6 tournament. Trunks is thrown in the mix in his arc, but it's really only those 3. The current arc could be different, but we still aren't very far into the meat, so it's hard to tell.

[sintzu]

I haven't seen Super but how much of the cast is in these arcs? Even with a big cast, you can cycle characters in and out. Bulma and Kuririn and Yamcha weren't in the whole RRA arc.

Goku and Vegeta were the only useful participants in the U6 tournament. Trunks is thrown in the mix in his arc, but it's really only those 3. The current arc could be different, but we still aren't very far into the meat, so it's hard to tell.

This. If you're going to read the manga instead then Trunks doesn't really do much so it's pretty much the Goku and Vegeta show from start to end (for now at least).

[Jinzoningen MULE]

This. If you're going to read the manga instead then Trunks doesn't really do much so it's pretty much the Goku and Vegeta show from start to end (for now at least).

I'd argue that the Trunks from Toyotaro's manga is a great model for a supporting cast in modern Dragon Ball. Give them special talents that make them useful despite the power gap. I don't know what those abilities would be, since obviously not everyone can be given the powers of a Kaioshin apprentice, but it's a good idea on paper, if nothing else.

[8000 Saiyan]

While they didn't contribute too much to the story, memorable moments like the Z team trying to help Gohan fight Cell and thinking about how much they love Goku and his son are the kind of moments that leave a lasting impression. That's what I think DB could use more of from its supporting cast.

That's easily one of the best moments ever in anything Dragon Ball related.

[Bullza]

No it's not too large at all. For a series that's 42 volumes long and now there's about 100 episodes of Super, the main cast, the regular cast is the ideal amount. There's Goku's family, Vegeta's family, Krillin's family and then a bunch of others like Yamcha, Tien, Roshi and Piccolo. That's about it.

One of the main reasons why Bleach went to shit is because that had a lot of characters and insisted on giving them screen time. Look at that final saga, they gave fights to all these different Shinigami characters, some that weren't really that important and it stayed that way for like two years straight and the main character Ichigo was hardly in it, he'd go out of the series for months on end.

Fairy Tail has too many characters because ever villain has like a dozen henchmen which are only there so the other characters can fight them. Naruto had a lot of characters but that wasn't as bad.

One Piece has a ton of characters which for a long time wasn't a problem because they'd keep the main characters, the Straw Hats, throughout whist rotating the secondary cast from saga to saga but for the past few years the series has had the problem where there is that many characters that they keep splitting the crew up and half of them go out of the story entirely for months.

[floofychan333]

I'd say it's too large only because the supporting cast appears too much to be recurring characters but not enough to really do anything of substance. Personally, I don't see the need to have absolutely everyone around at every gathering/fight but at the same time characters shouldn't just be written off the show without a logical explanation. The original DB succeeded in not keeping characters around for too long but at the same time still allowing them to exist and make a few appearances; this happened with characters such as Upa, Bora, and Suno, who rarely appeared after their purpose was finished but still remained as characters who made an occasional appearance for old times' sake.