Why did Son Gohan keep his body?

[Rocketman]

He committed genocide for money. What part of that is not evil.

[Ringworm128]

http://youtu.be/hcL46NjFDJU?t=2m55s

[Piccolo Daimao]

Either it’s a standard requirement for people to have their body returned to them for that special day back in the living world (before it gets reincarnated or whatever), or Gohan was allowed to keep his body in the afterlife for being a renowned martial artist who may’ve also protected Earth from destruction in some way by warning Gokuu not to look at the moon, potentially preventing events in which Oozaru Gokuu would’ve destroyed the planet.

And/or, he’s both the #1 (before Gokuu) student of motherfuckin’ Muten Roushi, or he’s the first teacher of who would become one of, if not the greatest super-warrior martial artist in the universe, laying down the foundations for his future accomplishments in strength, spirit and technique.

[Fox666]

No US President has personally killed a billion people, oddly enough.

Do you believe that actually makes someone any less evil?

I don't want to fall for the godwin's law, but I believe that a comparison with Hitler would work as a legitimate argument here.

[Rocketman]

Bardock is worse than Hitler.

[Naughty Kinto Un]

Bardock is worse than Hitler.

By that logic, using a milder comparison, the American soldier is guiltier than George W. Bush for invading Iraq under false pretenses. I'm sorry, that doesn't add up.

The person who orders the other to do the dirty work for him is, in my mind, much worse than the one who personally carries out the order. Actually, Penguintruth mentioned Teddy Roosevelt earlier, and for all the 26th president's imperialism and hawkish glee, I find him much more honorable for having gotten directly involved in the action, than if all that time he had sat behind the safety of his desk letting others kill and be killed for him.

I think do Bardock is evil by human (Earthling) standards. But by Saiya-jin standards? I don't know. Saiya-jins are an ultra-violent species. I don't really consider a cat evil, even if it's in their instincts to sometimes torture a mouse before devouring it. There's also a cultural component. I'm not sure Bardock would've survived in Saiya-jin society following our code of ethics. Tarble was exiled for being peaceful and he was royalty, whereas a lower class Saiya-jin like Bardock might've gotten killed for it. A child from ancient Sparta wouldn't have lived long if he refused to conform to the ruthless violence of his society. I'm pretty sure in that regard Planet Vegeta is Sparta x 10. As far as innately bloodthirsty Saiya-jins go, Bardock doesn't seem so bad considering with what he's had to work with. I think his morality or immorality is up for debate.

[Gaffer Tape]

I think his morality or immorality is up for debate.

From an out of universe perspective, maybe, and that's a very wobbly maybe. In-universe? Vegeta went to hell. They're evil. The cosmic standards of the universe have decried them so, and I can't find any reason to argue with it. They kill people. They like killing people. They're ruthless. They're savage. They're genocidal. And they love it. They're evil.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

Bardock is worse than Hitler.

Bardock's motives wasn't hatred and racism. He was doing his job, like every soldier.

[Fox666]

The Saiyans exterminate other species to sell their planets. Is it that different from what Humans do to the animals?

[Gaffer Tape]

Bardock is worse than Hitler.

Bardock's motives wasn't hatred and racism. He was doing his job, like every soldier.

An excuse that didn't work for the Nazis either! Besides the fact that it was clearly a job he enjoyed, so his motives were, "Yaaaaay! Blood! Carnage! Death! Wheeeeeeeeeeee!"

[Naughty Kinto Un]

I think his morality or immorality is up for debate.

From an out of universe perspective, maybe, and that's a very wobbly maybe. In-universe? Vegeta went to hell. They're evil. The cosmic standards of the universe have decried them so, and I can't find any reason to argue with it. They kill people. They like killing people. They're ruthless. They're savage. They're genocidal. And they love it. They're evil.

In the context of the Dragon Ball universe, I agree with most of that. Though, I have to ask, are the cosmic standards in that universe, the ones that decide whether or not you go to hell, decreed by an infallible spiritual order? Because the theology of DB seems to portray its spiritual hierarchy, from Kami to Kaioshin, as fallible. Unlike the Abrahamic religions which unequivocally deem the laws of their God absolute, DB's spiritual laws are enforced by flawed gods and are therefore flawed in their enforcement (and perhaps their creation); resembling a man-made legal system, leaving room for possible moral relativity. Theoretically, there's a chance that not all that go to Hell in DB truly deserve Hell. (I thought Hell was Toei-only?)

But I have to admit that I'm not familiar with the finer points of the DB universe, and the real-life Eastern spirituality that inspired it, so I may be totally off base with the above.

In an out of universe context, I definitely believe Bardock's evilness is arguable. Fox666's latest argument is the best by far:

The Saiyans exterminate other species to sell their planets. Is it that different from what Humans do to the animals?

[DBZGTKOSDH]

From what we saw about Bardock from Specials & video games, Bardock doesn't look like a guy that is pure evil, maniac, torturer, rapper, whatever else. So no, I don't think that Bardock should be placed in the same category as the Nazi.

[Gaffer Tape]

From what we saw about Bardock from Specials & video games, Bardock doesn't look like a guy that is pure evil, maniac, torturer, rapper, whatever else. So no, I don't think that Bardock should be placed in the same category as the Nazi.

Yeah, rappers are pretty evil, huh? Good things Bardock isn't one of those, or he's really have no chance of getting into heaven.

[Fox666]

I guess he meant a rapist?

[DBZGTKOSDH]

I guess he meant a rapist?

Yeah, yeah, rapist.

[Marker]

I always thought Grandpa Gohan kept his body because he personally stopped Goku from leaving Mount Paozu when he transformed into an Oozaru. Had Goku left there on a rampage he'd probably have killed tons of innocent people. I could see him personally going after Goku to stop him because he was a very good person and passionate man. Heck, most people would run away from a big monster like that. He probably inadvertently saved a lot of lives.

[Bussani]

I thought Hell was Toei-only?

Hell exists in the manga, but it's never shown, so whether it's anything like what Toei came up with is unknown.

You're probably right about Dragon Ball's rules being fallible. Everyone's judged by Enma, so it would come down to whether you agree with his judgement or not. The rules might not even be that ironclad since he chose to send Dabura to Heaven because, being from the demon world, he'd probably like Hell too much. Of course, if there's ever an afterlife and rules for getting into it--be it in fiction or real religions--I'm sure someone will disagree with the rules. It's unavoidable since good and bad are so subjective.

Piccolo tells Vegeta that he won't go to "the same place" as Goku when he dies because he's killed too many people. Later, though, when they wish for everyone "except the really bad guys" to be brought back to life, Vegeta is included (much to his own surprise), and Goku comments that the dragon must not consider him so bad. So does the dragon disagree with Enma? Or had Vegeta just redeemed himself slightly?