What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Discussion regarding the entirety of the franchise in a general (meta) sense, including such aspects as: production, trends, merchandise, fan culture, and more.

Moderators: General Help, Kanzenshuu Staff

WittyUsername
I Live Here
Posts: 4170
Joined: Sun Dec 22, 2013 12:09 am
Location: Houston, Texas

What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by WittyUsername » Thu May 28, 2020 6:40 pm

By “normal”, I mean that the Earth that Dragon Ball takes place in seemed to become less bizarre and fantastical over time, particularly by the Cell arc. At the beginning of the story, it was clear that the Earth in which Dragon Ball takes place in is pretty far removed from reality, as shown by the presence of anthropomorphic animal characters, blue people with pointy ears, shapeshifting schools, and the fact that martial artists with superhuman abilities were seen as a common enough occurrence that there were entire tournaments for them to compete in.

Over time, however, the animal characters were phased out, and the population of Earth at large had inexplicably forgotten about all these superhuman martial artists, so much to the point where Mr. Satan was able to convince the entire planet that Goku and the others were using tricks. So, what exactly is everyone’s thoughts on this? Are you fine with how increasingly mundane the world of Dragon Ball became, or do you dislike it?

Personally, I don’t like it. I don’t understand why Toriyama thought it was a good idea to make the world he came up with seem more like the real world, but I think it made the setting more boring, and it made the people of Earth look like a bunch of idiots.

MyVisionity
Banned
Posts: 1834
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2004 11:51 pm
Location: US

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by MyVisionity » Thu May 28, 2020 8:12 pm

I love the animal characters and wish that they had stuck around.

I disagree about the people of Earth forgetting about fighters with "superhuman" abilities. I don't think that was ever really a thing, and that the stuff with Mr. Satan was just plot points.

While weird and creative, Toriyama's world was always rooted in the real world to a great degree, since the very beginning. I don't think that the people of the Earth really changed all that much or look stupid.

User avatar
DBZAOTA482
Banned
Posts: 6995
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2012 4:04 pm
Contact:

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by DBZAOTA482 » Fri May 29, 2020 11:19 am

The "extraordinary" martial artists weren't actively in the public eye like Mr. Satan. Likewise, the old Tenkaichi Budokai were more of an underground event that was done for tradition and love for the sport.

The fighters in the new Tenkaichi Budokai aren't real martial artists but rather celebrities.

This is actually nice commentary as it reflects on the commercialization of sporting events in real-life.
fadeddreams5 wrote:
DBZGTKOSDH wrote:... Haven't we already gotten these in GT? Goku dies, the DBs go away, and the Namekian DBs most likely won't be used again because of the Evil Dragons.
Goku didn't die in GT. The show sucked him off so much, it was impossible to keep him in the world of the living, so he ascended beyond mortality.
jjgp1112 wrote: Sat Jul 18, 2020 6:31 am I'm just about done with the concept of reboots and making shows that were products of their time and impactful "new and sexy" and in line with modern tastes and sensibilities. Let stuff stay in their era and give today's kids their own shit to watch.

I always side eye the people who say "Now my kids/today's kids can experience what I did as a child!" Nigga, who gives a fuck about your childhood? You're an adult now and it was at least 15 years ago. Let the kids have their own experience instead of picking at a corpse.

DragonBallFoodie
Advanced Regular
Posts: 1371
Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2016 5:12 pm
Location: Zambia, Southern Africa

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by DragonBallFoodie » Sat May 30, 2020 4:27 am

I think it represents a noticeable shift in DB's tone.

It originated as a comic fantasy with its roots in the Asian myth Journey to the West, where the world was a fantastic mix of modern society co-existing with all sorts of mystical beings (talking cats, ogres, mermaids, an afterlife, and of course mystic wish-granting dragons).

Then with the arrival of the Saiyans the focus shifted to a distinctly sci-fi tone. The Earth didn't seem so spectacular anymore, it opened up new worlds filled with aliens and cosmic beings.

I admit I have mixed feelings on this progression. I can't be sure if it has helped or hindered DB. I do think that with Battle of Gods and Beerus, there has been a slight return to the fantasy genre thanks to the introduction of a capricious cat deity.
"Don't take pleasure in destruction!" / "I will not let you destroy my world!"
A true hero goes beyond not the limits of power, but the limits that divide countries and people.

User avatar
Yuli Ban
OMG CRAZY REGEN
Posts: 797
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2015 9:07 am
Location: New Orleans, LA
Contact:

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by Yuli Ban » Sun May 31, 2020 10:12 pm

DragonBallFoodie wrote: Sat May 30, 2020 4:27 am I think it represents a noticeable shift in DB's tone.

It originated as a comic fantasy with its roots in the Asian myth Journey to the West, where the world was a fantastic mix of modern society co-existing with all sorts of mystical beings (talking cats, ogres, mermaids, an afterlife, and of course mystic wish-granting dragons).

Then with the arrival of the Saiyans the focus shifted to a distinctly sci-fi tone. The Earth didn't seem so spectacular anymore, it opened up new worlds filled with aliens and cosmic beings.

I admit I have mixed feelings on this progression. I can't be sure if it has helped or hindered DB. I do think that with Battle of Gods and Beerus, there has been a slight return to the fantasy genre thanks to the introduction of a capricious cat deity.
Except it wasn't really a modern society, though. It's always been an overtly sci-fi world— filled with hover-cars, hover-bikes, capsules that can shrink larger items, futuristic buildings, artificial humans and cyborgs, and more. It was just an incredibly 80s-fied futuristic world; and 80s-fied futuristic that has no real ties to cyberpunk at that, with some bits of then-contemporary technology mixed in.

The Saiyans didn't introduce anything that wasn't already there, really. In fact, I'm actually intrigued at how the Saiyans were introduced vs. how we think of them nowadays. These days, we think of Saiyans as these savages barely above cavemen who were given Freeza Force technology, but back at the time in 1989, Saiyans were basically 80s hair metal kung fu pirates clad in sci-fi Mad Max armor + jazzercise fashion, depicted as ultra-high tech in comparison to Earth (which only seemed "modern" in comparison to their space craft and ki-reading scouters).
I can understand that particular arc having a sci-fi tone, but it absolutely didn't last beyond Freeza.

If you say that the artificial humans made Dragon Ball Z so sci-fi, then what makes the likes of 16 so much different than Eighter or Major Metallitron? We had already been there.

Also, the third major arc of Z literally deals with an immortal djinn-like demon summoned by a wizard cricket; the only sci-fi part of that is Babidi's spaceship. I can't see how that isn't fantastic.


TLDR: Dragon Ball was closer in style to Dragon Ball Z (and vice versa) than people are comfortable admitting


The loss of furries and some of the goofier aspects of the world, though— that definitely is a big shift. I like to think of early Dragon Ball as being quite like a "Famicom anime"— the artstyle, aesthetic, general wackiness, and progression felt quite a bit like an 80s Famicom game (the Dragon Ball manga itself being partially responsible for some of that cartoony style that Famicom games took on). By around the Z portion (mainly after Freeza), that particular spirit of the show felt like it had left. We didn't see too many furries or wacky elements of Earth because we just weren't on Earth at that point. Toriyama may have likely also forgotten to add them as extra background detail.
The Yabanverse
My own take on Saiyajins in a fanverse.

User avatar
KBABZ
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 5180
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2017 9:38 pm
Location: The tallest tower in West City

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by KBABZ » Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:16 am

I think it's to be expected because the setting becomes much less important starting with the 23rd TB. Not coincidentally this is when the majority of the cast learns how to fly, which annihilates any relevance the environment has regarding how you get to where you need to go. While Goku always had the Nimbus, this was balanced in that he was the only one who could use it, and the Dragon Balls are hidden in the environment so you need to search for them on the ground, in caves, up mountains, in towns, etc.

(this not even mentioning that the genuine wuxia setting of ancient china hasn't been seen for decades now)

Once the characters could fly and the stories shifted to Villain Arcs, there was no longer any reason to put any focus on the local setting. Earth in Z and Namek and the Land of the Kais aren't that different from one another, outside of the latter two having a single biome. Any details shown in the Saiyan, Android and Buu arcs are almost always inherited from what was set up in the Kid Goku era. The exception to this is the Great Saiyaman saga because the setting is high school and Satan City, but that of course wouldn't last.

---

It IS worth pointing out however that the Dragon World has always had a more "modern" side to it alongside the wuxia countryside and the Jetsons cities. But it's always modern to when it was written: Papaya Island when we first visit it is 100% 80s, as is Kame House. Bulma's inventions back in those days had 80s aesthetics, whereas nowadays they feel very modern for our time in Super. This means that classic Dragon Ball doesn't feel "normal" in the "modern" areas because it was derived from a time period that doesn't exist anymore, so it feels more alien and exotic.
Yuli Ban wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 10:12 pm Except it wasn't really a modern society, though. It's always been an overtly sci-fi world— filled with hover-cars, hover-bikes, capsules that can shrink larger items, futuristic buildings, artificial humans and cyborgs, and more. It was just an incredibly 80s-fied futuristic world; and 80s-fied futuristic that has no real ties to cyberpunk at that, with some bits of then-contemporary technology mixed in.
Highly disagree, the Dragon World, as I alluded to above, is a mix of three or four completely different time periods. We have wuxia ancient Chinese countryside, WWII vehicles, a "modern" flavour that shifts itself to match when the work itself came out, and futuristic Jetsons cities. This not even mentioning sub-cultures like Nam's Indian people, the Alaskan Jingle Village, the Native American Land of Korin, and so on. The mix of all of these is what makes the Dragon World so unique.

User avatar
ArmenianPepsi
Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
Posts: 396
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2020 4:02 am

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by ArmenianPepsi » Mon Jun 01, 2020 2:30 am

KBABZ wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:16 am I think it's to be expected because the setting becomes much less important starting with the 23rd TB. Not coincidentally this is when the majority of the cast learns how to fly, which annihilates any relevance the environment has regarding how you get to where you need to go. While Goku always had the Nimbus, this was balanced in that he was the only one who could use it, and the Dragon Balls are hidden in the environment so you need to search for them on the ground, in caves, up mountains, in towns, etc.

(this not even mentioning that the genuine wuxia setting of ancient china hasn't been seen for decades now)

Once the characters could fly and the stories shifted to Villain Arcs, there was no longer any reason to put any focus on the local setting. Earth in Z and Namek and the Land of the Kais aren't that different from one another, outside of the latter two having a single biome. Any details shown in the Saiyan, Android and Buu arcs are almost always inherited from what was set up in the Kid Goku era. The exception to this is the Great Saiyaman saga because the setting is high school and Satan City, but that of course wouldn't last.

---

It IS worth pointing out however that the Dragon World has always had a more "modern" side to it alongside the wuxia countryside and the Jetsons cities. But it's always modern to when it was written: Papaya Island when we first visit it is 100% 80s, as is Kame House. Bulma's inventions back in those days had 80s aesthetics, whereas nowadays they feel very modern for our time in Super. This means that classic Dragon Ball doesn't feel "normal" in the "modern" areas because it was derived from a time period that doesn't exist anymore, so it feels more alien and exotic.
Yuli Ban wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 10:12 pm Except it wasn't really a modern society, though. It's always been an overtly sci-fi world— filled with hover-cars, hover-bikes, capsules that can shrink larger items, futuristic buildings, artificial humans and cyborgs, and more. It was just an incredibly 80s-fied futuristic world; and 80s-fied futuristic that has no real ties to cyberpunk at that, with some bits of then-contemporary technology mixed in.
Highly disagree, the Dragon World, as I alluded to above, is a mix of three or four completely different time periods. We have wuxia ancient Chinese countryside, WWII vehicles, a "modern" flavour that shifts itself to match when the work itself came out, and futuristic Jetsons cities. This not even mentioning sub-cultures like Nam's Indian people, the Alaskan Jingle Village, the Native American Land of Korin, and so on. The mix of all of these is what makes the Dragon World so unique.
Very well put. I tell you that's one of the reasons i've fell in love with DB recently. It's just such a unique world they crafted, and with all the different types of technology, visual aesthetics, and cultures all co-existing, it makes things fun and interesting even when the story itself isn't exciting at times. Because at the very least the characters will be in a unique, memorable location, something to keep your eyes busy. There are times where I just pause to take in all the little details the artists put into the background because they look so appealing to me. :D
First time Dragon Ball fan as of March 2020. Still learning the ropes. Nothing much else to say,

Vijay
Advanced Regular
Posts: 1423
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:48 am

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by Vijay » Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:16 am

Just because something like talking animals & weirdly designed characters were there back then in early DB, it's not sumthin which needs to be followed ritually.

It's hard to recommend a show to be taken seriously when you have talkin crocodile wearing yellow singlet, or bear as commander of pirates. Maybe as kids show DB wud be fine by early 80's standards.

Goin by 90's era or 2000 era, you simply can't take them seriously. And yeah I kinda appreciated how "normal" the world has become

As for the humans. It's one of those things which Toriyama understood perfectly. It's human nature to forget. Even he himself claims so.

So it's only natural for Tenkaichi Budoukai audiences to forget existence of such powerful fighters from the past like frm 21st, 22nd & 23rd TB

User avatar
Kamiccolo9
Namekian Warrior
Posts: 10352
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2013 9:32 pm
Location: Regensburg, Germany

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by Kamiccolo9 » Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:53 am

Vijay wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:16 am
As for the humans. It's one of those things which Toriyama understood perfectly. It's human nature to forget. Even he himself claims so.

So it's only natural for Tenkaichi Budoukai audiences to forget existence of such powerful fighters from the past like frm 21st, 22nd & 23rd TB
Piccolo literally took over the world. One doesn't just "forget that."
Champion of the 1st Kanzenshuu Short Story Tenkaichi Budokai
Kamiccolo9's Kompendium of Short Stories
Cipher wrote:If Vegeta does not kill Gohan, I will stop illegally streaming the series.
Malik_DBNA wrote:
Scarz wrote:Malik, stop. People are asking me for lewd art of possessed Bra (with Vegeta).
"Achievement Unlocked: Rule 34"

Vijay
Advanced Regular
Posts: 1423
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:48 am

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by Vijay » Mon Jun 01, 2020 8:25 am

Kamiccolo9 wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:53 am
Vijay wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:16 am
As for the humans. It's one of those things which Toriyama understood perfectly. It's human nature to forget. Even he himself claims so.

So it's only natural for Tenkaichi Budoukai audiences to forget existence of such powerful fighters from the past like frm 21st, 22nd & 23rd TB
Piccolo literally took over the world. One doesn't just "forget that."
Duh...for how long? A week? Or even less than that?

Anime at least had 10 filler episodes providing Goku task to travel towards Icy Mountain, fight off Roshi's proxy, drink Sacred Water, return back to Karin's Tower safely, THEN fly off to fight Piccolo, not before touring, saving Gyuumao & Chichi....

Manga was pretty quick.

Piccolo does seem to make some sort of impression on human memories. When dude was standing alongside Z fighters near Cell Ring @ Cell Games, some ppl seem to recognize Piccolo though not exactly.

Only Cat King😂 from King's Castle seem to rmmber Piccolo..cuz well...he is a King. Dude's supposed to know things...unlike regular humans who eat, live, reproduce, again eat, live, reproduce, die in the hands of Red Ribbon Army, Piccolo, Saiyans, Cell or Majin Boo 🤣🤣🤣

Piccolo's event occured almost 9-10 years back nah? Most ppl outside 23rd TB spectators who watched MaJunior revealing himself as Piccolo Jr don't even realize Piccolo still lives lol...as soon as King of King's Castle claimed Daimou is no more, world seemed content & move on with it's usual life

Add to that whole Cell's horrifying massacre, and his Cell Games announcement. It's only natural for world citizens to gravitate towards a new threat at hand. Not even talkin abt Majin Boo's existential level of threat & genocide which wud've erased any sort of memories of Piccolo's dominance.

Time changes...as do people....

User avatar
KBABZ
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 5180
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2017 9:38 pm
Location: The tallest tower in West City

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by KBABZ » Mon Jun 01, 2020 9:55 am

Kamiccolo9 wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:53 am
Vijay wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:16 am
As for the humans. It's one of those things which Toriyama understood perfectly. It's human nature to forget. Even he himself claims so.

So it's only natural for Tenkaichi Budoukai audiences to forget existence of such powerful fighters from the past like frm 21st, 22nd & 23rd TB
Piccolo literally took over the world. One doesn't just "forget that."
Correct, in fact in The Final Chapters (not sure if it's in the manga) people actually flee from Piccolo in terror as he tries to convince people to contribute to Goku's Spirit Bomb, citing the 23rd TB specifically.

Vijay
Advanced Regular
Posts: 1423
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:48 am

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by Vijay » Mon Jun 01, 2020 10:53 am

KBABZ wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 9:55 am
Kamiccolo9 wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:53 am
Vijay wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:16 am
As for the humans. It's one of those things which Toriyama understood perfectly. It's human nature to forget. Even he himself claims so.

So it's only natural for Tenkaichi Budoukai audiences to forget existence of such powerful fighters from the past like frm 21st, 22nd & 23rd TB
Piccolo literally took over the world. One doesn't just "forget that."
Correct, in fact in The Final Chapters (not sure if it's in the manga) people actually flee from Piccolo in terror as he tries to convince people to contribute to Goku's Spirit Bomb, citing the 23rd TB specifically.
Haha. It was in original DBZ Episode 285. It was filler & not in manga. But it seemed more like hunans were terrified of Piccolo's serious face & his inappropriate way to convince earthlings to contribute to Goku's Genki Dama vs Kid Boo. And pretty sure it cud be due to humanity's fear of weird beings like Fat Boo, Babidi & now some green-faced alien appearing infront them still fresh in humans mind

WittyUsername
I Live Here
Posts: 4170
Joined: Sun Dec 22, 2013 12:09 am
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by WittyUsername » Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:00 pm

Vijay wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 8:25 am
Kamiccolo9 wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:53 am
Vijay wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:16 am
As for the humans. It's one of those things which Toriyama understood perfectly. It's human nature to forget. Even he himself claims so.

So it's only natural for Tenkaichi Budoukai audiences to forget existence of such powerful fighters from the past like frm 21st, 22nd & 23rd TB
Piccolo literally took over the world. One doesn't just "forget that."
Duh...for how long? A week? Or even less than that?

Anime at least had 10 filler episodes providing Goku task to travel towards Icy Mountain, fight off Roshi's proxy, drink Sacred Water, return back to Karin's Tower safely, THEN fly off to fight Piccolo, not before touring, saving Gyuumao & Chichi....

Manga was pretty quick.

Piccolo does seem to make some sort of impression on human memories. When dude was standing alongside Z fighters near Cell Ring @ Cell Games, some ppl seem to recognize Piccolo though not exactly.

Only Cat King😂 from King's Castle seem to rmmber Piccolo..cuz well...he is a King. Dude's supposed to know things...unlike regular humans who eat, live, reproduce, again eat, live, reproduce, die in the hands of Red Ribbon Army, Piccolo, Saiyans, Cell or Majin Boo 🤣🤣🤣

Piccolo's event occured almost 9-10 years back nah? Most ppl outside 23rd TB spectators who watched MaJunior revealing himself as Piccolo Jr don't even realize Piccolo still lives lol...as soon as King of King's Castle claimed Daimou is no more, world seemed content & move on with it's usual life

Add to that whole Cell's horrifying massacre, and his Cell Games announcement. It's only natural for world citizens to gravitate towards a new threat at hand. Not even talkin abt Majin Boo's existential level of threat & genocide which wud've erased any sort of memories of Piccolo's dominance.

Time changes...as do people....
Regardless of how short Piccolo’s conquering of the world was, it seems odd that the people of Earth would just forget about the time that a literal demon held the world hostage, and blew up a major city, As I said in the OP, stuff like that just makes them seem like a bunch of idiots.

User avatar
Yuli Ban
OMG CRAZY REGEN
Posts: 797
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2015 9:07 am
Location: New Orleans, LA
Contact:

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by Yuli Ban » Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:34 pm

KBABZ wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:16 am
Yuli Ban wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 10:12 pm Except it wasn't really a modern society, though. It's always been an overtly sci-fi world— filled with hover-cars, hover-bikes, capsules that can shrink larger items, futuristic buildings, artificial humans and cyborgs, and more. It was just an incredibly 80s-fied futuristic world; and 80s-fied futuristic that has no real ties to cyberpunk at that, with some bits of then-contemporary technology mixed in.
Highly disagree, the Dragon World, as I alluded to above, is a mix of three or four completely different time periods. We have wuxia ancient Chinese countryside, WWII vehicles, a "modern" flavour that shifts itself to match when the work itself came out, and futuristic Jetsons cities. This not even mentioning sub-cultures like Nam's Indian people, the Alaskan Jingle Village, the Native American Land of Korin, and so on. The mix of all of these is what makes the Dragon World so unique.
I'm aware of that; I was commenting on the poster above claiming that DB only developed sci-fi elements once the Saiyans arrived.
The Yabanverse
My own take on Saiyajins in a fanverse.

Vijay
Advanced Regular
Posts: 1423
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:48 am

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by Vijay » Mon Jun 01, 2020 1:09 pm

WittyUsername wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:00 pm
Vijay wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 8:25 am
Kamiccolo9 wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:53 am

Piccolo literally took over the world. One doesn't just "forget that."
Duh...for how long? A week? Or even less than that?

Anime at least had 10 filler episodes providing Goku task to travel towards Icy Mountain, fight off Roshi's proxy, drink Sacred Water, return back to Karin's Tower safely, THEN fly off to fight Piccolo, not before touring, saving Gyuumao & Chichi....

Manga was pretty quick.

Piccolo does seem to make some sort of impression on human memories. When dude was standing alongside Z fighters near Cell Ring @ Cell Games, some ppl seem to recognize Piccolo though not exactly.

Only Cat King😂 from King's Castle seem to rmmber Piccolo..cuz well...he is a King. Dude's supposed to know things...unlike regular humans who eat, live, reproduce, again eat, live, reproduce, die in the hands of Red Ribbon Army, Piccolo, Saiyans, Cell or Majin Boo 🤣🤣🤣

Piccolo's event occured almost 9-10 years back nah? Most ppl outside 23rd TB spectators who watched MaJunior revealing himself as Piccolo Jr don't even realize Piccolo still lives lol...as soon as King of King's Castle claimed Daimou is no more, world seemed content & move on with it's usual life

Add to that whole Cell's horrifying massacre, and his Cell Games announcement. It's only natural for world citizens to gravitate towards a new threat at hand. Not even talkin abt Majin Boo's existential level of threat & genocide which wud've erased any sort of memories of Piccolo's dominance.

Time changes...as do people....
Regardless of how short Piccolo’s conquering of the world was, it seems odd that the people of Earth would just forget about the time that a literal demon held the world hostage, and blew up a major city, As I said in the OP, stuff like that just makes them seem like a bunch of idiots.
Are you saying they (human characters of the show) aren't?😂

They were jokers who believed mere "human" world champion could defeat Cell who busted planes & tanks, hunted down & sucked humanity dry at Ginger Town and multiple cities across the globe

Same jokers who thought their world champion cud defeat omnipotent, indestructible creature Majin Boo who wiped >80% world population, decimated defense army playfully all within 2 days & ultimately blew-up entire goddamn world

Biggest insult was how Goku wished Majin Boo memories from human minds are completely erased. Wtf bruh? You completely reset their brain and timeline as if nothin happened? Sure, Boo is tough & you might need his assistance in future battles, but cmon...

To answer your question, maybe it's the generation gap thingy. Only old-timers remember catastrophic events as Roshi (Daimou's appearance 300 years ago), Cat King & deities like Karin-sama, Kami-Sama etc.

Newer generation were oblivious to world dominating forces like Daimou or Red Ribbon Army to an extent if you will. Even if they do remmber, what's the outcome? It's not as if humanity in DB world gonna come-up with counter-attack against these supwr-powerful alien threats by creating their own monsters....wannabe AOT, Pacific Rim, JL🤣

User avatar
KBABZ
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 5180
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2017 9:38 pm
Location: The tallest tower in West City

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by KBABZ » Mon Jun 01, 2020 2:07 pm

Yuli Ban wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:34 pm I'm aware of that; I was commenting on the poster above claiming that DB only developed sci-fi elements once the Saiyans arrived.
Ah! Sorry about that.

Yes you are correct. In fact Dragon Ball had science fiction elements right from the very first arc, or Chapter even! Part of the joke in the opening Chapter is that it's Journey to the West, then Wukong pees in the river, then a hip teenager shows up with a futuristic motorbike contained in goofily-named capsules and a radar she invented, then tries to sway the monkey boy with a peek at her underwear. Episode 2 shows she keeps an ENTIRE HOUSE in a capsule, and the Pilaf finale has the battle jackets.

User avatar
SuperSaiyaManZ94
I Live Here
Posts: 2712
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 9:01 pm
Location: Alabama, USA

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by SuperSaiyaManZ94 » Mon Jun 01, 2020 2:34 pm

The thing with the anthropomorphic animal people a la Dr. Slump indeed seems to have been gradually phased out over a period of time with the tonal shift of the series, seeing as later on in the Z era they aren't seen as much as the entirety of the DB portion and early DBZ. Same as the things like living dinosaurs and these other creatures, because it really lends to the idea that Dragon Ball's Earth is set in a completely different universe from the world as we know it in real life.
DB collection related goals as of now:

1.) Find decent priced copy of Dragon Box Z Vol. 4 (Done)

2.) Collect rest of manga

3.) Get rest of Daizenshuu (2-7)

User avatar
KBABZ
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 5180
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2017 9:38 pm
Location: The tallest tower in West City

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by KBABZ » Mon Jun 01, 2020 2:51 pm

SuperSaiyaManZ94 wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 2:34 pm Dragon Ball's Earth is set in a completely different universe from the world as we know it in real life.
I've always seen it as a sort of parallel Earth, similar to something like Mobius from Sonic the Hedgehog. Being this way means you do not have to explain or justify things like why trees look the way they do, the aesthetics of chinese architecture, that sort of thing (a lot of the stuff Namek sort of had to do). At the same time it also means Toriyama and the anime writers can get creative regarding how the world is built, so you have the Cardinal Cities mixed in with wuxia china, Jingle Village being comprised of Capsule Houses to keep the igloo aesthetic, invent its own political system to aid the storytelling of Daimao taking over the world, stuff like that. It gives you a lot of pre-established things with Earth while allowing a lot of creative flexibility to invent your own stuff.

DragonBallFoodie
Advanced Regular
Posts: 1371
Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2016 5:12 pm
Location: Zambia, Southern Africa

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by DragonBallFoodie » Sat Jun 20, 2020 7:35 pm

Yuli Ban wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 10:12 pm Except it wasn't really a modern society, though. It's always been an overtly sci-fi world— filled with hover-cars, hover-bikes, capsules that can shrink larger items, futuristic buildings, artificial humans and cyborgs, and more. It was just an incredibly 80s-fied futuristic world; and 80s-fied futuristic that has no real ties to cyberpunk at that, with some bits of then-contemporary technology mixed in.

The Saiyans didn't introduce anything that wasn't already there, really. In fact, I'm actually intrigued at how the Saiyans were introduced vs. how we think of them nowadays. These days, we think of Saiyans as these savages barely above cavemen who were given Freeza Force technology, but back at the time in 1989, Saiyans were basically 80s hair metal kung fu pirates clad in sci-fi Mad Max armor + jazzercise fashion, depicted as ultra-high tech in comparison to Earth (which only seemed "modern" in comparison to their space craft and ki-reading scouters).
I can understand that particular arc having a sci-fi tone, but it absolutely didn't last beyond Freeza.

If you say that the artificial humans made Dragon Ball Z so sci-fi, then what makes the likes of 16 so much different than Eighter or Major Metallitron? We had already been there.

Also, the third major arc of Z literally deals with an immortal djinn-like demon summoned by a wizard cricket; the only sci-fi part of that is Babidi's spaceship. I can't see how that isn't fantastic.

TLDR: Dragon Ball was closer in style to Dragon Ball Z (and vice versa) than people are comfortable admitting
You are correct.

But I always felt DB Earth was an alternate version of Earth that combined both fantasy and sci-fi. But the sci-fi element grew and eclipsed the fantasy element as the story went on.

It may have been a natural progression though, as part of bringing in scientists and alien races.

Yuli Ban wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 10:12 pm The loss of furries and some of the goofier aspects of the world, though— that definitely is a big shift. I like to think of early Dragon Ball as being quite like a "Famicom anime"— the artstyle, aesthetic, general wackiness, and progression felt quite a bit like an 80s Famicom game (the Dragon Ball manga itself being partially responsible for some of that cartoony style that Famicom games took on). By around the Z portion (mainly after Freeza), that particular spirit of the show felt like it had left. We didn't see too many furries or wacky elements of Earth because we just weren't on Earth at that point. Toriyama may have likely also forgotten to add them as extra background detail.
You are indeed correct. Who knows if Toriyama could have gone back to that style by then?
"Don't take pleasure in destruction!" / "I will not let you destroy my world!"
A true hero goes beyond not the limits of power, but the limits that divide countries and people.

User avatar
Marco Polo
I Live Here
Posts: 2967
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2012 9:44 pm

Re: What are people’s thoughts on how increasingly “normal” the world of Dragon Ball became?

Post by Marco Polo » Sat Jun 20, 2020 9:22 pm

Y'all also have to consider that Dragon Ball is mostly set in remote lands and in the countryside, whereas DBZ is more focused on the big cities (and deserts, actually).

The Jaco manga is also interesting to see how the Dragon Ball world looked like in the past.

Post Reply