Introduction to Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z

Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. What can I say about those two series'? I've been wanting to talk about them for a long time, but I know I'd have a lot to say about it. So, to prevent it from being too long-winded, I'm breaking it into two (possibly three) parts. Now, shall we dive in?

The plot of Dragon Ball revolves around a superhumanly strong little boy with a monkey tail named Son Goku. When he's found by a teenage girl named Bulma, he learns about the existence of magical orbs called "dragon balls", which, when gathered together, summon a powerful dragon named Shen Long, who grants the collecter of the balls a single wish. So, as you can guess, the two go on a quest to find them and make form allies with many unusual characters, which includes, but is not limited to...

... a Shaolin midget named Krillin...

... a bandit named Yamcha...

... and a transforming pig, Oolong.

The series, though, is not limited to the adventures of finding the dragon balls (especially considering that all of them are found by the second volume), as most of the series revolves around martial arts fights and tournaments or adventures that have nothing to do with the dragon balls.

Far as the artwork goes, it's actually pretty good; It's clean, appealing and has a unique cartoony style.

So, we have some fairly interesting characters, a not-so-bad plot and some good art. What's to complain about? Well, for the biggest problem, you need look no further than the first cover...

That's right, I speak of the main character, Son Goku. So, what do I hate about this obnoxious little bastard? He's booooooring! How does one make a monkey-tailed little boy with superhuman strength boring? Like any bad writer, you erase any trace of personality. Give him a "pure heart" (meaning, make it so he never sinned a day in his life).

Then, if you really wish to make the audience hate your character, bludgeon them constantly over the head with how special he is and how much better he is then you could ever be!

In short, Goku is a Marty Stu if I've ever met one. Why does he even have allies if they're not going to be as powerful or useful as he is? And I'm going to be honest; I don't throw around the word 'Marty Stu' often.

Also, his "pure heart." Having never sinned a day in his life basically means he has no flaws. Now, very few people don't know this, but; characters need flaws. And more importantly, they need their flaws to set them back a bit. Know why? Because it makes a character feel more human, which makes them easier to connect with. The reader will lose interest if he or she does not connect, you know? Then again, I suppose Goku DOES have flaws, but no one seems to notice or react like real people would, so it means not. Oh and if he has a "pure heart," then would someone explain to me something about the first thing he did in the series; Bulma parked her car a little too close to him and as a result, he flipped her car over and tried to kill her when she was about to fight back. Isn't attacking someone completely unprovoked count as something? A little something called 'Wrath'?

Pure heart!

Like I said, characters need flaws, but stop feeding me that "pure heart" bullshit.

But I digress. My comments so far have been a bit of a hyperbole, as Goku isn't an intolerable protagonist. He may not be a terribly complex character, but he's entertaining and can carry the story. He certainly would not ruin such a creative, fun and humorous series such as Dragon Ball. No, that's Dragon Ball Z's job! And that will be the subject for my next post. 'Til then, *salute*