Could Dragonball/Z work as a serious show?

[Saiyatonian]

If Dragonball removed all the comedy and just focused on a more subtle, serious, dark storyline, would you appreciate it as much?

[KiddoCabbusses]

"Dark"? No. One of the cornerstones of the franchise is a giant reset button for anything that can go wrong, and one of the many recurring themes of Dragon Ball is having (at times inappropriately mood-killing) comedy even in the darkest moments.

More a "straight" action show with significantly less comedy/gags, like many action shows from the 2k's such as Jackie Chan Adventures, TMNT 2k3, or Shaolin Showdown? Perhaps, but the "Episode of Bardock" and "Plan to Destroy the Super Saiyans" specials show how this can feel rather bland for a Dragon Ball formula. Not to mention that it'd probably be a daunting task to re-adapt the pre-Piccolo Daimao-arc Dragon Ball sagas into a "serious" action show with few-to-no funny bits.

[dbzfan7]

HELL NO. I love how they balanced it out and kept things mostly lighthearted. It would be so boring if everything was dark 24/7. Even BTAS wasn't dark all the time.

[Chuquita]

It would be so boring to me that I wouldn't watch it. A lack of levity is a huge turnoff for me when it comes to entertainment.

[OutlawTorn]

"Dark" is often overrated and does not always equal "good." With that said, I think the core of the franchise would have to be reworked for it to work as a serious show and, in doing so, would transform it from Dragon Ball into something else. When there's fighting and death going on, you need to the lighthearted aspects to keep the story from becoming grim.

[mAcChaos]

"Dark"? No. One of the cornerstones of the franchise is a giant reset button for anything that can go wrong, and one of the many recurring themes of Dragon Ball is having (at times inappropriately mood-killing) comedy even in the darkest moments.

More a "straight" action show with significantly less comedy/gags, like many action shows from the 2k's such as Jackie Chan Adventures, TMNT 2k3, or Shaolin Showdown? Perhaps, but the "Episode of Bardock" and "Plan to Destroy the Super Saiyans" specials show how this can feel rather bland for a Dragon Ball formula. Not to mention that it'd probably be a daunting task to re-adapt the pre-Piccolo Daimao-arc Dragon Ball sagas into a "serious" action show with few-to-no funny bits.

Reminds me of when the old Kaioshin gave up his life.

[DBZ Mick]

Maybe if someone other than Toriyama wrote it... but it'd lose a lot of it's charm.

[Adamant]

It was done, sort if, with the original Bardock TV special, which Toriyama said he found very interesting due to it having the kind of story and tone he'd never be able to write himself.

[Cursed Lemon]

Well, I mean, the question is rather open-ended.

Could you create a manga/anime with a serious tone that utilizes the Dragonball universe and characters? Of course you could, and it could theoretically be fantastic if you're a fan of darker media.

Would it be "Dragonball" anymore? Almost certainly not.

[Marco Polo]

Android Saga.
Cell Saga.
Trunks: The Story.
Bardock: The Father of Goku.

It would and already has.

[theoriginalbilis]

I've always had a feeling that the general American fanbase considers DragonBall Z to be a no-nonsense, serious, "balls to the wall" action show anyway. Looking at responses from those who grew up with/prefer the English Z dub and the Falconer score, they pretty much all say the same thing: they feel FUNI's voice actors and the Faulconer Productions score fit the atmosphere/epic storyline more.

I, or course, disagree with this to an extent, but that's just how some of those fans feel. I tend to think DragonBall is at its best when it balances out the comedy and serious stuff.

[Ajay]

If they were to edit out all of the comedy from the show as it stands right now? No, it would be horrible. It's one of the primary reasons why I get somewhat bored during the fight scenes in Kai whereas Z has be glued to the screen. It's pretty relentless in Kai and you really need the comedic relief that you get in Z.

If they were to write an entire spin-off with this tone then yes, it could very easily work. It certainly would feel very alien as a piece of Dragon Ball media but yeah, I see no reason why it couldn't. We've had similar instances before as mentioned in this thread already.

[Looneygamemaster]

Probably not. I think a lot of manga writers (Toriyama included) are good at writing fun adventures--but serious plotlines? Not so much. It's why I prefer the early part of the story to the "Z" portion (which is this kind of thing to an extent).

[DoomieDoomie911]

I wouldn't like it near as much. One of my favorite things about the series is the lightheartedness of it. Take that away, and you would take away the whole charm of Dragon Ball.

[Hellspawn28]

I think it can work. Just because it's dark that does not mean it will be dark and gritty like the Nolan Batman movies. I think it can be dark and serious but still having light hearted moments and a few campy moments. The show can have a similar tone to the recent Kamen Rider shows like W, OOO and Wizard where they have a excellent blend of comic relief, campiness, and serious action/drama. I always think a sequel to GT would have take place before Heroes Legacy where the characters have to save the universe without Goku's help and without the Dragon Balls. When a character dies, they stay dead without being wish back.

[TheGmGoken]

It would be to boring. Though I think Freeza arc should had been more dark. Not really into serious shows. I enjoy some gags. Plus it'll be lifeless and get to emotional at times.

[The Monkey King]

The history of Trunks special worked so why not?

[DragonBalllKaiHD]

It was done, sort if, with the original Bardock TV special, which Toriyama said he found very interesting due to it having the kind of story and tone he'd never be able to write himself.

And he, despite of saying that, in the end, did write the Artificial Humans/Cell arcs. These were far darker than he ever wrote in the entire run up to that point. And the Trunks Side Story had a sense of hopelessness and despair.

So Toriyama did at one point write a darker tone in the story without a comedy, which it worked out fine.

[TheGmGoken]

It was done, sort if, with the original Bardock TV special, which Toriyama said he found very interesting due to it having the kind of story and tone he'd never be able to write himself.

And he, despite of saying that, in the end, did write the Artificial Humans/Cell arcs. These were far darker than he ever wrote in the entire run up to that point. And the Trunks Side Story had a sense of hopelessness and despair.

So Toriyama did at one point write a darker tone in the story without a comedy, which it worked out fine.

1 arc doesn't mean the entire series can be done like that

[doomydoomydoom]

Android Saga.
Cell Saga.
Trunks: The Story.
Bardock: The Father of Goku.

It would and already has.

This, not to mention the beginning of the damn series where a bunch of people die and the survivors run around crying and stuffing their dead friends in body bags, which if you're one of the rare breed who came from the first half of the series like I did, is very jarring. Hell, the relentless dark tone is part of the reason I'm not such a huge fan of Android\Cell. Toriyama clearly let the series's roots get away from him post Piccolo Jr., and although it was an interesting experiment at first, it quickly wore thin and didn't even feel like Dragon Ball.

BUT I DIGRESS.

Would DB work as a more serious action\drama than it already was, eh...nah. Toriyama's sense of humor is definitely a major appeal point. If it were trying to be Legend of the Galatic Heroes Lite we would have a problem on our hands methinks.