Red Ribbon Army position on Earth

[GoodboiRaditz]

Hello everybody , i was rewatching the OG dragonball anime , i am in the middle of the RRA arc and i was wondering how strong they really were compared to the King's army , they seem to be well known and feared and the kings army not doing anything about the land that RRA are occupying , i mean they kidnapped the mayor of a village and everybody's fine with that , and i found it ironic that Goku who was originally supposed to destroy the Earth's main army ( the king's army) , became a good kid due to reasons well known and instead destroyed the other evil army (RRA) , it seems that Goku could've taken over the Earth by himself at a young age if not for the fateful head injury

[Lionel]

Good question. I've thought about this as well.

The Red Ribbon Army doesn't appear all too inclined for blending into society and engaging in asymmetric guerrilla warfare as would be ideal for a group that's embroiled in conflict with a superior force. They have factional uniforms with insignia showing who they affiliate with. Did the king just not care or was he not made aware of their existence? I find either of those scenarios hard to believe since a self-ascribed hermit living on an islet in the middle of the ocean knows of their reputation and what their actions entail. Krillin described them as being "the most evil criminal organisation in the world".

In the minds of most, the Dragon Balls were being gathered to wish for world domination. You have to contemplate the logistical rationality as to why they're seeking a magical means for achieving their goals instead of going the traditional route of conquering like Piccolo Daimou accomplished. Perhaps they weren't confident in their odds of a direct conflict with the king's military? It's interesting that the RRA's operations appeared relatively isolated in remote areas of the world like a boreal village to the far north, some undeveloped coastlines in the tropics, and a broad expanse of forestry with few people living in them.

If they're renowned enough to have garnered a reputation then it stands to reason that the government would be aware of their existence as well. Come to think of it, Bulma's reaction to Goku brazenly admitting that he destroyed them included an informative remark about how both the police and army couldn't handle them. Strange then for such a highly capable group to go out of their way for an unorthodox means of achieving their goals. Did they just want to ensure that no one would rebel against them? Were they concerned about the prospect of committing to total warfare? I'm not sure an explanation is given.

[GoodboiRaditz]

It's interesting how mysterious the RRA is , ,Officer Black was shocked when Red told him that he planned to use the wish to get taller , and he also said that RRA was strong enough to take on the world , this would imply that his army was stronger than the king's but i highly doubt it since they mostly occupies lands that were isolated from society , they didn't touch areas like West city and Central city because the King's army was very active there , it's very interesting to think how things would've turnes out for them if they didn't gather the dragonballs and instead carried a direct assault for the King's castle , juding from Red's comments they could win but it would be very costly in my opinion , their troops had the likes of Silver and Blue whom showed Quite some feats surpassing average humans

[Lionel]

Maybe the RRA's higher-ups weren't confident in their ability to handle the consequences of a total warfare scenario? Like you said, it would have undoubtedly cost them a good deal of blood and treasury to conventionally overwhelm King Furry's military. If they're reeling from the consequences of a Pyrrhic victory with infrastructure destroyed and their military bled to the point of not being able to administrate across such a vast expanse of territory then it would be quite easy for a resistance to form and begin fighting back.

It could be that Commander Red, Black, and others were hoping to skirt around this dilemma by simply wishing that the whole world be subject to them. We know it happened once before with someone purportedly wishing to be made ruler of the world. It's possible that may have been where the architects of the RRA heard of the Dragon Balls and inspired them to seek those artefacts out.

[Polyphase Avatron]

Wasn't it stated somewhere that they were the world's second biggest retailer of advanced technology next to Capsule Corporation? They had economic power as well.

[GoodboiRaditz]

Wasn't it stated somewhere that they were the world's second biggest retailer of advanced technology next to Capsule Corporation? They had economic power as well.

Really , i didn't hear anything like that stated in the anime , they were feared almost like a criminal organisation , how would they sell their products to the masses ?

[Polyphase Avatron]

Wasn't it stated somewhere that they were the world's second biggest retailer of advanced technology next to Capsule Corporation? They had economic power as well.

Really , i didn't hear anything like that stated in the anime , they were feared almost like a criminal organisation , how would they sell their products to the masses ?

I think it was stated in one of the guidebooks or a Toriyama interview.