Bulma's Character development

[Gogetason]

Did she develop at all from the conceited and flirtatious girl that met goku? One would assume that she changed her flirtatious ways after being with vegeta but thats never fully been tested.

[Gogetason]

Wow 28 views and no reply whats happen to this place

People are even more willing to reply to a topic about "whos nicer'' rather than a topic about character development???

[Cure Dragon 255]

Wow 28 views and no reply whats happen to this place

People are even more willing to reply to a topic about "whos nicer'' rather than a topic about character development???

Chill, your thread is great, but you cant expect people will post immediately.

I think her character developed nicer.

[Grimlock]

Did she develop at all from the conceited and flirtatious girl that met goku? One would assume that she changed her flirtatious ways after being with vegeta but thats never fully been tested.

One can only hope she developed, right? It would probably be bad for a forty-nine-year-old (by Dragon Ball Super Super Hero) to still be acting as though she was sixteen.

[Gogetason]

Did she develop at all from the conceited and flirtatious girl that met goku? One would assume that she changed her flirtatious ways after being with vegeta but thats never fully been tested.

One can only hope she developed, right? It would probably be bad for a forty-nine-year-old (by Dragon Ball Super Super Hero) to still be acting as though she was sixteen.

I've gotten responses from people on other forums claiming Bulma is a static character, do you agree or disagree?

[Grimlock]

All characters are "static" to some extent. It's what define them. For instance, you can't take the "easy-going" personality away from Goku, otherwise he won't be Goku anymore [citation needed].

Though for this specific matter, I disagree. I don't think Bulma is still a "flirtatious girl". If she is then we have a problem, she's married, has two kids and, like I said, she's currently forty-nine years old. No issue in being flirtatious at that age, mind you, if you are single.

[Dr. Casey]

She changes a lot. 16 year old Bulma is pretty cold and selfish, doesn't care a lot about anyone besides herself. Yamcha's usually listed as the first "bad guy" that Goku befriends, but maybe that was actually Bulma, she skirts the line when she privately gloats in the first chapter of how Goku's four-star ball will go flying off. She maintains a bit of her temperamental nature but she mellows enough that it would probably be inaccurate to describe her as such by Buu. By the 23rd Budokai (maybe 22nd) she's matured into one of the most caring members of the cast and in Z is typically the one who cares most about the group, wishing they'd socialize and visit as much as normal people do. She's a good example of someone who remains recognizably the same person but still matures a great deal.

[Gogetason]

All characters are "static" to some extent. It's what define them. For instance, you can't take the "easy-going" personality away from Goku, otherwise he won't be Goku anymore [citation needed].

Though for this specific matter, I disagree. I don't think Bulma is still a "flirtatious girl". If she is then we have a problem, she's married, has two kids and, like I said, she's currently forty-nine years old. No issue in being flirtatious at that age, mind you, if you are single.

Your first paragraph came off condescendingly didactic .It was also superfluous. Why did you feel the need to say that?

There are people in her position that are still flirtatious, though most are more covert about it. But I get what you mean considering the demographic, its not appropriate. Though without a confirmation you truly cant say she grew.

Need to have a pretty boy talk to her and see if she wont flirt

Also you seem to be equivocating in the last two sentence; why mention her age if you dont think it matters?

[JulieYBM]

In my opinion as a woman reading a comic aimed at children, I'm always at odds with how the character of Blooma is written. I absolutely want more tough women and like it when Blooma just takes what she wants, but because Dragon Ball is a comic written by a man who not particularly interested in writing women well and without his own pre-conceived notions of what a woman should be, I often feel as if any fun and interesting part of Blooma's character is consistently deflated by the circumstances surrounding her writing and the context that she exists within.

From the onset Blooma is portrayed as an antagonistic force to Son Gokuu—the character that the so-called target audience of JUMP is intended to identify with—and as a result Blooma is depicted as as someone for Gokuu to learn and grow from in any character-based way, but rather someone that the primary target audience ought to see as a hinderance to their desires to see Gokuu unemcumbered on his quest to seek out new adventures and new tests for his strength.

While Blooma does eventually come to like her beloved Son-kun, Blooma's arc kind of stagnates. Blooma gets some approximation of the boyfriend that she set out to acquire at the beginning of the series in the form of Yamcha, but other than a few comedic bits, Blooma doesn't quite have anything resembling an arc again until she's on the outs with Yamcha during the Red Ribbon Army storyline and decides to help Son-kun with his quest to find the Dragon Balls yet again. It is here that—following the early depictions of Blooma pissing her pants in humiliating scene and then being nearly turned into Oolong's sex slave—Blooma is then nearly raped and murdered by two Red Ribbon Army soldiers as a gag. Blooma—and by the extention, the series' primary depiction of girls—is consistently depicted at the whim of men, with the series never quite making a statement about how sexual assault and the misogynistic treatment of girls and women is, y'know, bad.

Even by later arcs, where Blooma is now older and a mother, she's still used within the context of the series either to further the plot of the male characters or for sexist humor devoid of any real message other than "haha, isn't it funny to treat women like things?"

It's hard to really get invested in Blooma's character development when it consistently feels devoid of meaning anything to Blooma, her interests and desires for herself, and instead just seems to be there for the convenience of plot reasons and unfunny sexist jokes.

Like, there are bits that could certainly be funny, but when you consider the context of who is making Dragon Ball, who is editing Dragon Ball, who is publishing Dragon Ball, and to whom Dragon Ball is being marketed to, it's just one big stink fest.

Blooma's scenes in Super Hero alone just bore the shit out of me despite featuring one of my favorite kinks, precisely because it's awkward inserted into a movie aimed at kids and doesn't really contribute anything to a story for Blooma as a character.

[Grimlock]

Your first paragraph came off condescendingly didactic .It was also superfluous. Why did you feel the need to say that?

Because it needs to be said. For the very same reason people feel the need to say "Goku isn't Goku without this or that", "Dragon Ball isn't Dragon Ball without this or that" and etc.

Also you seem to be equivocating in the last two sentence; why mention her age if you dont think it matters?

Because there's still the matter of someone of certain age acting not accordingly to their age, immature issues and what have you. You don't expect a fifty-year-old person to act as if they are teenager, but I guess it depends on what we are talking about. Anyway, I'm just bringing up that there's that to probably consider.

wishing they'd socialize and visit as much as normal people do.

Also Bulma.

She gets mad at Goku for not visiting her, but she never mentioned a sister, even to her husband. Apparently never called her to any of her birthday parties (or Tights to hers) or anything. I don't know, it's weird.