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Would DBZ be better if Goku stayed dead after Raditz?

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No, for the reason that there are scenes with Goku from later seasons that I really enjoy, and couldn't imagine the series without them e.g. Goku on Namek, the Goku vs Majin Vegeta part of the Buu saga, Goku and Gohan in the Room of Spirit and Time, some others I can't call to mind due to not having watched the series in a while. Also I generally like Goku's relationships with other cast members- Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta, Trunks, etc. and what those relationships add to the show. Basically it really wouldn't be the same without Goku, for me.

That said, I agree with those who have said that it's a shame Gohan's build-up as the new main character went to waste. I think the Buu saga would have been improved as a Gohan, Goten and Trunks based story, with Piccolo as the adult/mentor figure and the lesser-used cast members worked into the storyline in an interesting way.

The entire Buu saga sucks and makes no sense.
Goten and Kid Trunks are a joke. How can they be super saiyans? What have they gone through?
 
They aren't just overpowered.
They've achieved a legendary transformation that has repeatedly been shown to only occur due to an intense need, which is something they've never experienced.
Everyone else had to basically almost die like 10 times over years and years in order to become super saiyan. Then Goten and Trunks do it because "oh those wily six year olds! what will they do next!"
A lot of the Buu saga is just fan service that actually detracts from previous arcs of the series.
 
Goku's moments were in the original DB.

i still find really stupid that the original DB is not taken into account in DBZ discussions. it's like if people completely ignored the existence of Naruto part 1 when discussing Shippuuden.
 
DBZ would have been better if Goku's brother wasn't a throwaway villain.
 
They aren't just overpowered.
They've achieved a legendary transformation that has repeatedly been shown to only occur due to an intense need, which is something they've never experienced.
Everyone else had to basically almost die like 10 times over years and years in order to become super saiyan. Then Goten and Trunks do it because "oh those wily six year olds! what will they do next!"
A lot of the Buu saga is just fan service that actually detracts from previous arcs of the series.

Kid Goku was like that too. It took Master Roshi 50 yeas to learn the kamehameha, and Goku learned it straight away. Also, Future Trunks/Vegeta/Gohan going SSJ was just in the anime, we never see how they did it in the manga if I remember correctly.
 
Kid Goku was like that too. It took Master Roshi 50 yeas to learn the kamehameha, and Goku learned it straight away. Also, Future Trunks/Vegeta/Gohan going SSJ was just in the anime, we never see how they did it in the manga if I remember correctly.


Roshi is also human. It isn't surprising that Goku would learn the Kamehameha far easier. The differences between humans and saiyans have been well observed in DBZ.
It also took Roshi 3 years to get the sacred water and I think Goku does it in three days.

If anything, kid Goku had far more reason to become a super saiyan as a child than Goten and Trunks ever did. Their entire childhoods up until Buu were entirely peaceful. If Gohan is a wimp because the world is at peace, then not only should Goten and Trunks be super wimps, but they certainly have no reason to be super saiyans.
 
No. Goku is integral to the DB universe as much as the Dragon Ball themselves. I loved every season of the show and I don't have a problem at all with Toriyama's story decisions except for 1.

Tien/Krillin and Piccolo. Those guys should have at least have had at least 1 more power up during the Buu saga. The story focused on the Saiyan power up too much towards the end. I am not saying they should be as strong as Goku/Gohan, but maybe have Piccolo as a power equal to Vegeta and Tien not that far behind.
 
Roshi is also human. It isn't surprising that Goku would learn the Kamehameha far easier. The differences between humans and saiyans have been well observed in DBZ.
It also took Roshi 3 years to get the sacred water and I think Goku does it in three days.

If anything, kid Goku had far more reason to become a super saiyan as a child than Goten and Trunks ever did. Their entire childhoods up until Buu were entirely peaceful. If Gohan is a wimp because the world is at peace, then not only should Goten and Trunks be super wimps, but they certainly have no reason to be super saiyans.

Toriyama hadn't even thought of the Saiyan retcon until way later. Every character in the comic achieved SSJ through training outside of Goku (Future Trunks SSJ transformation was changed in the anime)., nothing to do with intense need.
 
What? No. It would have been better if the other Z Warriors had been able to keep up with Goku better, in particular Killin and Piccolo.
 
Toriyama hadn't even thought of the Saiyan retcon until way later. Every character in the comic achieved SSJ through training outside of Goku (Future Trunks SSJ transformation was changed in the anime)., nothing to do with intense need.

Yeah, I don't buy it.
Also, I can and will base my opinions on the anime.
 
I don't think DBZ gets enough credit for having one of the most straightforward time travel plots around.

because it "cheated" and was just going to parallel universes
 
Goku's moments were in the original DB.

i still find really stupid that the original DB is not taken into account in DBZ discussions. it's like if people completely ignored the existence of Naruto part 1 when discussing Shippuuden.

I see Dragonball works great as prequel. The style just changes too much in Z (to the better, more mature and everything). Dragonball was great in itself, but Z is the real deal.

On topic:
I don't Goku remaining dead would have been great after Raditz. There are lot of great moments especially with King Kai. The Frieza Saga was awesome and the Super Saiyan stuff blew my mind as a youngster. I agree though that they should have dropped the stuff with the different levels and fusions and stuff.
Also it would have changed the Cell Saga, which is my favorite by far!
 
Maybe the stronger the fathers are when their wife conceive, the stronger the kids turn out to be.

Don't bring up Pan. She doesn't count because GT
 
I always thought that it was easier for Trunks and Goten to become Super Saiyans because they were conceived after Goku and Vegeta became Super Saiyans.
 
I personally don't think theres anything to theorize about the boo saga. The entire thing was just nonsense, but then again it is a cartoon.

I seen it as them extending the series for the sake of it, honestly.
 
No. Gohan was a bitch until the late cell saga. Goku kind of fixed him in the time chamber.

Piccolo isn't main character material.

But if we're making shit up I'd go with Nappa and Vegeta killing everyone on earth, moving to Namek to resurrect the Saiyan race and continuing to take over the Galaxy.
 
There's a lot of people implying Gohan isn't the fucking best and shouldn't have been main character after Cell Games. All wrong. All of you. Be ashamed.
 
There's a lot of people implying Gohan isn't the fucking best and shouldn't have been main character after Cell Games. All wrong. All of you. Be ashamed.
Gohan sucks. The only time he ever actually accomplishes something, it's only after being partially responsible for his father's death. And after that, he goes right back to being worthless.

People prefer Goku for a reason.
 
Tournaments stopped mattering in DBZ once the saiyans shot past everyone and never looked back.

Even the 23rd Budokai was pretty predictable, just look at the lineup.

Tenshinhan Vs Cyborg Tao
Goku Vs Chichi
Kuririn Vs Piccolo
Yamcha Vs God

It's pretty obvious that Yamcha and Kuririn were gonna lose straight away, Tenshinhan was gonna beat the fodder villain and then lose, and Goku was gonna ROFLstomp everything.
 
Even the 23rd Budokai was pretty predictable, just look at the lineup.

Tenshinhan Vs Cyborg Tao
Goku Vs Chichi
Kuririn Vs Piccolo
Yamcha Vs God

It's pretty obvious that Yamcha and Kuririn were gonna lose straight away, Tenshinhan was gonna beat the fodder villain and then lose, and Goku was gonna ROFLstomp everything.

He didn't, though...
 
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The original run before this just point, should have been longer.
 
Idk, Goku is the only worthwhile guy in the whole anime except Vegeta. But, DBZ would be better if it had four times less episodes. Or if it'd never happened. DB is so much better.
 
In my opinion all the kids ruined DBZ. You can't even imagine how I hated Gohan.
Can we all agree that kids in movies/tv shows/videogames basically ruin everything 99% of the time, except in dramas and stuff like that?
 
In my opinion all the kids ruined DBZ. You can't even imagine how I hated Gohan.
Can we all agree that kids in movies/tv shows/videogames basically ruin everything 99% of the time, except in dramas and stuff like that?

True.

The only exceptions are Goku and Krillin as kids in Dragonball.
 
It would have been better with 3 things.

1) if akira toriyama said screw off fans and kept Gohan the center of attention instead of going back to goku and making gohan look dumb. Then cool, but then it wastoo late because he died.

2) More saiyin nonsense, but that would require lore. And akira toriyama isn't good at lore, or remembering things in his own manga.

3)If the end of GT series was transplanted and used as the end of Z, It begins with dragon balls, it ends with the dragon balls.
 
In my opinion all the kids ruined DBZ. You can't even imagine how I hated Gohan.
Can we all agree that kids in movies/tv shows/videogames basically ruin everything 99% of the time, except in dramas and stuff like that?

hey man kid Goku was cool, mass murdering all those RR Army guys and gave no fucks.
 
In my opinion all the kids ruined DBZ. You can't even imagine how I hated Gohan.
Can we all agree that kids in movies/tv shows/videogames basically ruin everything 99% of the time, except in dramas and stuff like that?

No, not at all .

Oh god that opinion is horrible. I wouldn't be able to read a shit ton of great manga if I was a horrible child hater.


This shit was hype.

ssj2_gohan___full_power__animation__by_2d75-d4wkah6.gif
 
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