Why do some people want to make DB Dark and Gritty?

[Hellspawn28]

I've seen some people saying the 2008 Jump Special and Battle of Gods were too childish and they hope that the next movie will be dark and gritty. I never saw Dragon Ball as a dark franchise and I feel like the darker sagas like The Cell saga still had their silly moments. I don't think having sex, blood, gore and boobs is going to make something better. For example, the second AVP movie was R rated unlike the first movie and the movie end up being worse in my opinion.

[Mystic Buu]

I seen some people saying the 2008 Jump Special and Battle of Gods were too childish and they hope that the next movie will be dark and gritty. I never Dragon Ball as a dark franchise and I feel like the darker sagas like The Cell saga still had its silly moments. I don't think having sex, blood, gore and boobs is going to make something better. For example, the second AVP movie was R rated unlike the first movie and the movie end up being worst in my opinion.

Who?I rarely see people who think that.Begining of the Dragon Ball was funny and childish and I am happy that 2008 Jump Special and BoG are made like that.Dark and gritty DB isn't and will never be DB.

[Dbzfan94]

Because those people don't know what DB really is... a lighthearted show.

[Hellspawn28]

Who?I rarely see people who think that.Begining of the Dragon Ball was funny and childish and I am happy that 2008 Jump Special and BoG are made like that.Dark and gritty DB isn't and will never be DB.

There's people on other forums, Youtube and DA that think DBZ needs to be more hardcore. I'm not saying Dragon Ball needs to be like Batman & Robin, but I don't want to see them go Mortal Kombat Rebirth on the franchise.

[DonZ]

I seen some people saying the 2008 Jump Special and Battle of Gods were too childish and they hope that the next movie will be dark and gritty. I never Dragon Ball as a dark franchise and I feel like the darker sagas like The Cell saga still had its silly moments. I don't think having sex, blood, gore and boobs is going to make something better. For example, the second AVP movie was R rated unlike the first movie and the movie end up being worst in my opinion.

Whoa whoa whoa whoa, hold on. who would even say that ?!!! that would ruin it BIG time (except maybe the gore, i can accept it)
anyway, yes. i like the Dark side of Dragon Ball. Freeza and Piccolo Daimao arc, History of Trunks special, the whole future Trunks story is so dark. and yet i like the happy, comedy side of the series too. the search of the Dragon Balls arc for example, it was so enjoyable. i could re-watch it 10000 times without getting bored.
overall the dark side of the series has the best plot and settings imo. Freeza is my favorite arc and Piccolo Daimao is the 4th.

[Shnuki]

While overall I prefer more dark and serious shows, I don't really want for future Dragon Ball material to go that way. I really enjoyed "Battle of Gods" because of the comedy.

If I want to watch something dark and serious, I have Fist of the North Star for that

[DonZ]

If I want to watch something dark and serious, I have Fist of the North Star for that

or Fullmetal Alchemist especially the 2003 show.

[soulnova]

I agree the first arc and tournament of DB is very funny and light-hearted... but those would be only some 28 episodes. The "dark and gritty" starts right around the Red Ribbon and keeps on going for most of the series. I would say we start seeing hints at the Muscle Tower arc and the General Blu arc. Then, things get much serious:

World renowned assassin Tao Pai Pai kills Upa's father in cold blood impaling him.
Red is shot in the head once his ridiculous plan is revealed.
Krillin is assassinated by a family of demons along the rest of the participants of the tournaments. Their souls will never rest.
Roshi dies failing to seal Piccolo back.
Chiaotzu is killed.
Shen Long is killed. All hope is lost.
King Piccolo is on his way to wipe out a city but is delayed by Tien.
Goku faces him and makes a hole through Piccolo. A hole. Through. Piccolo.

The third tournament was tense but not as dark. Their general idea was to stop Piccolo Jr before he started again with his father's work.

DBZ starts off with child kidnapping, murder-suicide, the promise of planetary genocide if they fail to stop the Saiyans and more child kidnapping. And it only goes down hill from there.

The series has always been dark behind all the jokes and slapstick comedy Toriyama threw at us. People got killed. A lot. Then they got killed some more. Sure, they get brought back to life, so that somehow lessens the impact but it doesn't change the fact they were massacred in horrible ways. It also helped that the characters make a joke of themselves and that lightened the overall mood.

I liked the movie. I felt Toriyama's silliness all over it and I embraced it. The comedy fit given the place and time it took place. Pilaf, Mai and Shu were the icing of the silly cake and I loved it.


We can have "dark/gritty" + "comedy" because that's the way DBZ already was.

[DonZ]

The series has always been dark behind all the jokes and slapstick comedy Toriyama threw at us. People got killed. A lot. Then they got killed some more. Sure, they get brought back to life, so that somehow lessens the impact but it doesn't change the fact they were massacred in horrible ways. It also helped that the characters make a joke of themselves and that lightened the overall mood.


We can have "dark/gritty" + "comedy" because that's the way DBZ already was.

This, This.

[RocktheDragon]

We can have "dark/gritty" + "comedy" because that's the way DBZ already was.

Totally agree with everything you said. And beyond that, the Namek/Freeza arcs were pretty serious with some comedy/silly parts added in to counteract that tension. DB has always been the best when it mixes the dark with the lighthearted! I think BOG continued that tradition pretty well for what it was.

[Bullza]

It's not that I'd want it to be dark and gritty but it needs to retain the same tone as the Cell saga for example, fun and light in parts but also dramatic, serious and violent in parts.

Dragon Ball was always fun and it could be funny but it was never that funny. The manga was at it's weakest when it's emphasis was on the humour, it came across more silly than anything.

Battle of Gods was too light and had way too much humour. Not only did they randomly dig out Pilaf a crappy character (like his henchmen) but also unnecessarily made him a little kid.

It wasn't funny, it was childish and pointless and it let the movie down. It wouldn't surprise me if they're trying to be like One Piece now.

[Hellspawn28]

If they do another movie or TV show then I think it will have the same tone as BOG. I think a darker DBZ movie or show won't sell well in Japan since I notice darker versions of kids shows don't sell well in Japan. For example, Go-Busters is the 36th Super Sentai show and it was known to be darker then the past seasons then it bombed in Japan. Ultraman Nexus was darker then the normal Ultraman seasons and it did fine, but that was a decade ago and things change since then.

[Ringworm128]

Might be because of the "dark and serious is better" mindset people have adopted due to movies like The Dark Knight.

[ABED]

Might be because of the "dark and serious is better" mindset people have adopted due to movies like The Dark Knight.

True, but Batman is an inherently darker character so that aesthetic works for him, not necessarily every character or series. I enjoyed Man of Steel, but felt they tried to be too much like Batman when he's a much different character than Superman.

I like that Dragon Ball toys around with tones. I enjoy the Pilaf arc, but the Buu arc is weird. It tries to have it both ways, it tries to be serious and more comedic, unfortunately it's humorous at many of the wrong times.

[Nanotchi]

Even in the darkest moments, Dragon Ball has a lot of humor. Plus, even the bad guys are really silly. Look at the Ginyu Force, they are powerful and scary, but at the same time very goofy and odd. It's just the world of Dragon Ball really. Another good example is the Red Ribbon Arc.. This private military has been killing and conquering to capture the dragon balls.. But no one knew what the leader REALLY wanted them for.

[ABED]

Even in the darkest moments, Dragon Ball has a lot of humor. Plus, even the bad guys are really silly. Look at the Ginyu Force, they are powerful and scary, but at the same time very goofy and odd. It's just the world of Dragon Ball really. Another good example is the Red Ribbon Arc.. This private military has been killing and conquering to capture the dragon balls.. But no one knew what the leader REALLY wanted them for.

I think that works because Red gets shot in the head at the end, and isn't the final boss of the RRA.

[RocktheDragon]

Might be because of the "dark and serious is better" mindset people have adopted due to movies like The Dark Knight.

True, but Batman is an inherently darker character so that aesthetic works for him, not necessarily every character or series. I enjoyed Man of Steel, but felt they tried to be too much like Batman when he's a much different character than Superman.

I like that Dragon Ball toys around with tones. I enjoy the Pilaf arc, but the Buu arc is weird. It tries to have it both ways, it tries to be serious and more comedic, unfortunately it's humorous at many of the wrong times.

I think it varies from person to person but the Buu arc just really worked for me. I thought it was the perfect send off for Toriyama and I'm glad he got to have some fun with the last arc he wrote. What are some concrete examples you have problems with in the Buu arc? I'm just interested to hear and understand your viewpoint on it. For me it's a nice medium between both and I've never been too bugged or bugged at all by it.

[ABED]

The entire Buu/Gotenks fight is played pretty much for laughs. It's hard to care about the fate of the world or the destruction of Kami's temple when everything is a chucklefest. Also, Fat Buu isn't all that great a villain, not until he gets serious, but the big pink blob isn't particularly great.

[DonZ]

Majin Buu (all the forms) is the worst villain in the series. well, worst seems kinda harsh, cuz he's not bad. but he's definitely my least favorite. but if i had to rank the forms it'll be like this ..

1) Kid Buu
2) Fat Buu
3) Super Buu

[Jodaku]

I love the uneven tone in the Buu saga; it's one of the aspects of that particular arc that I've grown to appreciate the more I look back at it. It really was a fitting send off to the series in that sense.