Zamasu is my least favourite DB villain. Here is an explanation why.

Discussion specifically regarding the "Dragon Ball Super" TV series premiering July 2015 in Japan, including individual threads for each episode.
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SupremeKai25
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Re: Zamasu is my least favourite DB villain. Here is an explanation why.

Post by SupremeKai25 » Thu Mar 14, 2019 9:54 am

What was going through the writers' head when they decided to make Jiren and not Fused Zamasu the final villain of Super? Fused Zamasu had all the traits that define a final villain. A superb design, unique and flashy techniques, a deadly gimmick, and interesting motivations. But apparently Toei and Toriyama decided that Jiren, and not Fused Zamasu, is "final boss" material.
At his core Zamasu is good like Shin, though I guess you could say he was so fastidious that it backfired. But you know, for this "Future Trunks Arc" you had to depict Zamasu and Trunks' inner conflict, right? If this was back when I was drawing the manga myself then I doubt if I could have done it. I mean, I'm not very good at depicting the characters' psychology on the page. So this all came together because now I only have to think up the story. [...] On my own, I doubt I would have been able to express Zamasu's fall to the dark side.
Akira Toriyama, DBS vol.4 joint interview with Toyotaro

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PerhapsTheOtherOne
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Re: Zamasu is my least favourite DB villain. Here is an explanation why.

Post by PerhapsTheOtherOne » Thu Mar 14, 2019 10:09 am

SupremeKai25 wrote: Thu Mar 14, 2019 9:54 am What was going through the writers' head when they decided to make Jiren and not Fused Zamasu the final villain of Super? Fused Zamasu had all the traits that define a final villain. A superb design, unique and flashy techniques, a deadly gimmick, and interesting motivations. But apparently Toei and Toriyama decided that Jiren, and not Fused Zamasu, is "final boss" material.
I think I might have an answer.

Zamasu represents the peak of "nuanced character building", at least for the franchise's roster of villains. Jiren, however, represents the slippery slope of the franchise; he's a final antagonist who's nothing BUT raw overwhelming strength. He's the personification of the community's obsession with a character's power level above all their other traits.

I felt that he was a good deconstruction and parody of that obsession, and the reactions of people to his "bland stoicness" show the hypocrisy of that mentality. We also see how such an obsession would play out for a character; he's broken and can't form proper relationships, and is reliant on his strength as a crutch for his past failures.

It really couldn't have been anyone BUT Jiren, the guy who was simply the strongest there was. Because in the end, that's what the franchise fell into: how strong the next antagonist was, and how that strength needs to be overcome.

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