Lack of backstories: bad?

[matt0044]

One thing I find odd about Dragon Ball is that unlike many other Shonen series (see Naruto and One Piece) that came after it, few of the characters have backstories that are well detailed or even backstories at all. Why was Yamcha a desert bandit? Why does Tenshinhan have a third eye?

Thoughts?

[Insertclevername]

I sort of like it. It adds mysticism to the series; as well as allowing (typically) children to use their imagination when it comes to filling in the details. It's an aspect of story telling that is often not appreciated today and is reflected in the modern Shonen you listed. The world feels small when things are already laid out for you. I don't really want to know why Yamucha was bandit or why Tenshinhan has a third eye. The endless amount of possibilities going on in my head trump any contrived explanation that could be given. Of course there's a line to be drawn, a storyteller can't just rely on the reader to do all the thinking, but when it comes to small, insignificant details like that putting the effort to explain it would ruin the fun, romantic and ambiguous nature of Dragon Ball's world.

I think the best two examples of expanding the series' back story would be in the two Bardock animated features. The original Bardock special is an example of when it is good to expand the series' history at the cost of it's mysticism since there's a story that the writers actually worth telling; therefor giving a reason for it to exist. Episode of Bardock would be the opposite side of that token because it's contrived crap that over expands and in doing so, shrinks the universe's sense of scale.

[Looneygamemaster]

I think backstories should be determined by the big story demanding it. Like, if there was something involving Yamucha or Ten's past, then that would require backstories for them.

They should also only be given to the characters important enough to need it--and as much as I like them, a lot of Dragon Ball's supporting cast isn't really that important.

[BojGrass]

I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing in Dragon Ball's story. There's only enough to let you know what's happening and why it's happening and in the case of Dragon Ball I really like that because it doesn't get in the way of the story being told. I haven't read Naruto, but I've been reading One Piece and sometimes I enjoy the flashbacks, but other times they drag on forever and by the time it returns to current events I have to go back and remind myself of what's happened. Though at this point since there's not a whole lot new being written, I'd like to see the backstories of some of these characters now. Maybe some (mis)adventures of Roshi when he was young and training or something along those lines.

[penguintruth]

We don't need to know the minutiae of every DB character's life. It's what ruined Bardock, for instance.

I don't especially care or need to know why Yamucha came to live in the desert (STD quarantine, by the way, which is where he got his fear of women), the details of Freeza's race and family (his dog Snowcone was killed in that jockstrap incident), or how Tenshinhan met Chaozu (J-Date).

[Blade]

Dragonball is so long that the preceding chapters are the back story.

One Piece and Naruto can be a little jarring to me when they try to overly imbue a story with too many character flashbacks and tragic tales. It's all just a little bit forced, especially to the extent at which it's overly done.

On one hand, Oda can be quite good at it, and is certainly better than his Shonen contemporaries at keeping it light and interesting now and again.

In Naruto, it's just plain tiresome. Everyone has a tragic back story of death, orphan-hood or vengeance - or possibly all three. Gimme' a break!

[Luso Saiyan]

We don't need to know the minutiae of every DB character's life. It's what ruined Bardock, for instance.

When did we know the minutiae of Bardock's life? We only saw his last hours. 'Ruined' is hardly an accurate word to describe it.

[Fizzer]

Dragonball is so long that the preceding chapters are the back story.

One Piece and Naruto can be a little jarring to me when they try to overly imbue a story with too many character flashbacks and tragic tales. It's all just a little bit forced, especially to the extent at which it's overly done.

On one hand, Oda can be quite good at it, and is certainly better than his Shonen contemporaries at keeping it light and interesting now and again.

In Naruto, it's just plain tiresome. Everyone has a tragic back story of death, orphan-hood or vengeance - or possibly all three. Gimme' a break!

Yeah, that sort of thing would be awful in Dragon Ball. I'd like to see a bit more depth and background, but it shouldn't be a flashback explaining why someone has their whole personality every time a new character is introduced.

[Dbzfan94]

I'd rather there not be much of a characters backstory, then have a sad sob story background , like so many other shounen anime today (almost every character in Naruto has a sob story.)

[Gyt Kaliba]

Honestly, I'm kind of in the middle here. I feel like there's so much that would be fun to learn about these characters that we probably never will, but at the same time...I don't really consider it a weakness that they're not there in the main series itself. It would have bogged things down too much, much like how it often does for Naruto or One Piece.

But, now that we're so many years from the series being over, I really would like to see more 'character study' pieces. I for one would like to see how Kuririn ended up at the temple, or how Yamcha ended up in the desert, or even some stuff about Roshi's own days of youth. There's probably more story telling value there than there is in giving us more Super Saiyan transformations and the like...but sadly that's where the money lies I suppose.

[Gokuden]

IMO, Yamcha's brother lives in Penguin Village, Yamcha was either lost as a child, or seperated from his parents, and that's where he began to fend for himself like a feral child, or he was a raised by a group of thieves.

[ABED]

Tenshinhan lends himself to have a dark past, whereas Yamcha doesn't. Sure, he was a bandit, but I don't see it as him getting away from some childhood trauma. Maybe he just left home in a fit of teenage rebellion.

[DBZAOTA482]

Personally, I think backstories are pretty overrated. Heavily detailed backstories don't always make for good characterization (see Broli for instance) though it'd be cool to get more insight into certain characters, specifically Yamcha. I mean, where did he come from? How did he learn Roga Fufu Ken? Where did he get those scars? And so on. What a waste.

[ABED]

Personally, I think backstories are pretty overrated. Heavily detailed backstories don't always make for good characterization (see Broli for instance) though it'd be cool to get more insight into certain characters, specifically Yamcha. I mean, where did he come from? How did he learn Roga Fufu Ken? Where did he get those scars? And so on. What a waste.

Agreed, though they are great when they shed light on a character. I mean genuine light, as opposed to trying to explain a characters actions and psychology by showing a single moment. I'm not the biggest fan of writers boiling down entire humans with single moments as if that explains everything. Hannibal Lector is best left unexplained, and so is the Joker.

[Gyt Kaliba]

I guess I should clarify, when I say I want backstories, or at least wouldn't mind them, I don't mean they have to be all traumatic. They could still be pretty silly, and likely would be if they came from Toriyama. I'd just like to see more of where some of these characters come from.

[Vijay]

The reason I loath Naruto & bleach to some extent.

Backstories presented via flashbacks when the characters are right in the MIDDLE of the fight.

Thankfully Dragonball isn't for the most part barring few examples: Future Trunks vs Perfect Cell & Goku vs Frieza.

I was talkin about the way Backstories are presented.

Coming to DragonBall, a little more detail could've been included every now & then. I dont mind the trivial things, but Majin Buu's backstory felt underworked from Toriyama that gave wonderful Frieza & Cell saga.

But Dragonball isn't writing masterpiece. It has great & most importantly LIKEABLE characters, fantastic action chereography, epic showdowns, genuine Toriyama-style humor & backed by a decent plot. Great enough for me.

[DBZAOTA482]

Personally, I think backstories are pretty overrated. Heavily detailed backstories don't always make for good characterization (see Broli for instance) though it'd be cool to get more insight into certain characters, specifically Yamcha. I mean, where did he come from? How did he learn Roga Fufu Ken? Where did he get those scars? And so on. What a waste.

Agreed, though they are great when they shed light on a character. I mean genuine light, as opposed to trying to explain a characters actions and psychology by showing a single moment. I'm not the biggest fan of writers boiling down entire humans with single moments as if that explains everything. Hannibal Lector is best left unexplained, and so is the Joker.

I'm not huge on those either. It not only spoils the character but it's tedious to watch. It's especially bad when the writer pretty much ignores it.

[Insertclevername]

We don't need to know the minutiae of every DB character's life. It's what ruined Bardock, for instance.

When did we know the minutiae of Bardock's life? We only saw his last hours. 'Ruined' is hardly an accurate word to describe it.

He's talking about Episode of Bardock where they needlessly transformed him into something he was never supposed to be.

[ABED]

Backstories can be interesting if done well, but what's more important for an interesting character are the choices they make, and that doesn't always boil down to something in their backstory.

[mAcChaos]

There are two ways to let you know a character's personality.

The backstory, or the actual story. DBZ's "backstory" is the actual story. We see it all happen right in front of us and see what makes them tick.