Why did Raditz and Nappa have to die?

[FoolsGil]

Raditz' story is definitely a tragedy because of Minus. Gine and Bardock sealed his fate by lying to him. That said, Raditz wasn't a character, he was a device. He was there to change Dragonball from the grounded martial arts series, to the sci-fi element it is now. Someone had to be the villain for that, and while most mangaka may have went with someone else, and would have had Raditz take Vegeta's or Nappa's spot so he would have been reformed, Toriyama went with Raditz to be the game changer and the one to die.

Nappa...Nappa's a crony, and indirectly killed Yamcha, and directly killed Chaozu, Tenshinhan, and Piccolo. He deserved to die.

Nappa didn't kill Chiaotzu and Tien Shinhan.

Chiaotzu killed himself by self-destructing. Tien used the Kikoho in a weakened state, and died as a result.

Of the Z-Fighters, only Piccolo was directly killed by Nappa.

Nappa's actions facilitated their actions to kill themselves.

[Sailor Haumea]

Raditz' story is definitely a tragedy because of Minus. Gine and Bardock sealed his fate by lying to him. That said, Raditz wasn't a character, he was a device. He was there to change Dragonball from the grounded martial arts series, to the sci-fi element it is now. Someone had to be the villain for that, and while most mangaka may have went with someone else, and would have had Raditz take Vegeta's or Nappa's spot so he would have been reformed, Toriyama went with Raditz to be the game changer and the one to die.

Nappa...Nappa's a crony, and indirectly killed Yamcha, and directly killed Chaozu, Tenshinhan, and Piccolo. He deserved to die.

Nappa didn't kill Chiaotzu and Tien Shinhan.

Chiaotzu killed himself by self-destructing. Tien used the Kikoho in a weakened state, and died as a result.

Of the Z-Fighters, only Piccolo was directly killed by Nappa.

Nappa's actions facilitated their actions to kill themselves.

Well, yeah, but Chiaotzu blowing himself up was really stupid. He was the weakest one there, shouldn't he know that self-destructing won't do much damage?

The Z-Fighters made a lot of stupid decisions against Nappa.

Chiaotzu blowing himself up.
Piccolo sacrificing himself (they should've gone out of their way to make sure Piccolo stayed alive. If he dies, it's game over. No more Dragon Balls) when he could've just pushed Gohan out of the way.

[PelicanDynasty]

Well, yeah, but Chiaotzu blowing himself up was really stupid. He was the weakest one there, shouldn't he know that self-destructing won't do much damage?

This is Chiaotzu we're talking about. The same guy who can't solve 5+2, and screamed to get King Piccolo's attention before he made his wish. He's not exactly a genius

[ShadowBardock89]

And so I could continue to say Poor Raditz while recognizing and accepting that Raditz was evil and had to be killed. All because of Minus, and all because of Vegeta

I would also extend this to GT, while Nappa gets a scene with Vegeta (in which he dies again by stupidly attacking him. Nappa, if he was already stronger than you when he killed you the first time, why would you attack him again?), Raditz only gets a small cameo. He does not get the decency of having a scene with his brother or even Gohan. While its most likely he was killed again, I kind of want to believe he got away (was not seen in the check-in line).

[Nejishiki]

1. Vegeta blew up Arlia, despite Nappa pointing out they were heroes to the Arlians. If Vegeta wasn't there, Nappa probably would've just left the planet.
[...]
Nappa would've been fine with just leaving the Arlians alone and reviving his comrade. Vegeta mercilessly eradicated a race who thought of him AS A HERO and wanted immortality.

Nappa, compared to Saiyan Saga Vegeta and Raditz, was a saint.

Nappa didn't mention anything about being a hero to the residents. Actually, he was vexed that the planet couldn't turn a profit like they anticipated. Vegeta agreed and wiped it out. They both enjoyed the fireworks it created and vowed to treat Earth the same if it was equally without value. There's no suggestion that Nappa was against the idea and it would be out of character if he were. Without Vegeta, it's likely he would brawl against the entire planet. Let's not neglect that playing prisoner was his idea.

[Fionordequester]

Nappa didn't mention anything about being a hero to the residents. Actually, he was vexed that the planet couldn't turn a profit like they anticipated. Vegeta agreed and wiped it out. They both enjoyed the fireworks it created and vowed to treat Earth the same if it was equally without value. There's no suggestion that Nappa was against the idea and it would be out of character if he were. Without Vegeta, it's likely he would brawl against the entire planet. Let's not neglect that playing prisoner was his idea.

And you're saying that was the Japanese version, right? Because the Ocean dub has him contemplating about how they were heroes to the people.

[Vorige Waffe]

To move the story forward.