Mr Baggins wrote: Fri May 13, 2022 9:10 am
Here's the elephant in the room: DB in its early years had plenty of tension, be it Piccolo Daimao or many scenes prior. Literally
all of that is undermined with kid Goku having magic plot armor. Full stop.
Holding my tongue on other elements of the preview for now, but on this: That tension in earlier arcs will never be undermined by later material on either first read or subsequent rereads, just as the tension Piccolo and Vegeta provide as villains will never be undermined by the knowledge they later become friends, just as the tension of Goku and Vegeta choosing to become Vegetto in the Boo arc isn't undermined by the later revelation that the fusion is temporary, etc. The additional developments, context, retcons, etc. are set apart from the original scenes by volumes upon volumes (an 50+ and across two series in this case), and will never affect a first pass or how they read in execution down the line. This is information the series gives you 19 volumes after the epilogue of the original series, and it's offered in that light--not something it gives you going into Volume 1, and not something intended to diminish anything that's come prior.
A series can always add context that affects new material, or how the piece works as a whole, but later material never stands to change the way earlier portions work, unless you decide to examine it through that lens (but then, that's not really what those scenes or storylines are doing on their own).
If you like what the additional angle does for those moments viewing DB+Super as a whole, or don't like it, that's one thing. But Goku vs. Piccolo doesn't suddenly become a different story for the revelation in the Granolah arc. What's more relevant here is whether the revelation here does anything for Bardock and Goku in the context of this arc, or for DB as a whole as added context, and I get why there could be debate as to its efficacy on both fronts. But I'm not sure I'm entirely on board with the idea that it's undermined the tension--in-scene, in execution--of anything that's come prior, or that it even has the ability to.
TheSaiyanGod wrote: Fri May 13, 2022 9:28 am
You can also just chalk this up to Goku himself being the one who firstly affected Bardock, which in turn affected him back (with the trend of him changing people around him, even without the intention). And I think thematically, the final scene of the original manga's last battle with Goku thanking the Dragon Balls and being aided precisely by a wish sounds more poetic now.
But with that said....this wish wasn't necessary at all. I don't see the point of this plot point, even though I don't think it retroactively alters Goku's story as dramatically as some are thinking. But I would much rather have that fact remain ambiguous and serve only as a sweet moment of Bardock wishing his sons the best rather than something like that.
Realistically, this is about where I land. I think there are some positive spins it can lend to the reading of the overall series and existing moments if you like, but also--despite that--am not entirely sure it needed to be introduced at all for the recontextualization headaches it causes (it's not like anything about the original was in particular need of the reframing), and all the while don't think it's all that worth fussing about either way.
Does it work in the context of its arc? I think mostly, but there were also probably less divisive ways to achieve the same effect.
She/Her 
