#Goku is the strongest ever

[jetmultiverse]

Yknow what, heck it, which of these seemingly unbeatable characters wins?

[shannonsketches]

something something foils moving in opposite directions Goku's always happy to seek and fight stronger opponents because he spent most of his life being the strongest guy in the room and Vegeta wants to be the strongest/is always exhausted to find stronger opponents because he spent most of his life having to navigate his survival around the whims of the strongest guy in the universe room and so Goku has a foundation of safety and stability and so spends his time craving challenge and adventure and Vegeta has a foundation of challenge and adventure and spends his time craving safety and stability and the overlaid section of their venn diagram is that the only way they know how acquire and maintain those things is through battle

[kakusboyfriend]

How I sleep understanding my favorite villain's personality and backstory and why they work so well while also throwing key aspects of it away for the benefit of my own indulgences btw ^_^

[elclassicohater]

Tastemaker's shonen protag??

Buddy you must be new here

Whatever Mr. Ghost Rider wannabe over here did, HE did it first

A handful of Ichigos. Makes me happy to see all the Bleach love. He is the tastemaker's shonen protag.

[snekdood]

there are some dbz cis dude fans who take dbz too seriously and dont seem to understand that toriyama fundamentally is a comedy loving guy who LOVES slapstick cartoons, hence why the original dragon ball series is the way it is. the show is literally his way of parodying over-the-top martial arts fighting movies. goku himself is a caricature! why do you think he as a kid is able to perfectly master all these techniques n shit? it's literally to make fun of those types of movies

[tobiasdrake]

Haven't had a chance to talk much about the Ginyus yet, so here we go. Talking about the Ginyu Tokusentai/Ginyu Force/Dairy Special Forces requires putting them into context with the greater Dragon Ball universe around them.

Something that has always been incredibly limiting for Dragon Ball's worldbuilding is that, despite much of the brand being about presenting Goku with new ladders to climb, Goku doesn't climb ladders. He leaps from ladder-top to ladder-top.

What this means is, Toriyama had a tendency to be hyperbolic with the challenges Goku was presented. Toriyama doesn't pit Goku against powerful foes. He pits Goku against the most powerful foe, then has to sit back and figure out another arena for Goku to go fight the champion of.

This creates issues of perspective. We don't get to see a lot of development of the worlds Toriyama creates because Goku only shows up to fight the Very Most Powerful Guy and then leaves. And this also means we don't get to see what being the Very Most Powerful Guy means relative to people who are not.

If you followed Dragon Ball Super, you might have noticed that issue with the Tournament of Power. The way the story leaps straight from "Multiple universes exist" to "Goku vs. The Strongest in Universe 6" and then to "Goku vs. The Strongest Guy in the MULTIVERSE!" without even stopping to breathe.

What is that universe even about? Who knows? But this guy sure is their STRONGEST GUY. And that's something that's been with Dragon Ball... honestly, since all the way back at the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai when his second arc adversary was the Earth's legendary ultimate martial arts master.

The whole concept of aliens enters the Dragon Ball universe by way of Raditz introducing the Strongest Alien Race in the Universe.

Shortly after that, Goku is fighting the Strongest Saiyan, who is technically referred to as Strongest in the Universe... right up until a retcon introduces the Planet Trade Organization and Goku fights Frieza, the Actual Strongest in the Universe For Realsies.

So. Yeah. It's hard to get a sense of perspective for how powerful our guys are when they leave Earth because they only ever brush elbows with outlier titans.

But to give some idea, we already know that Earthlings are considered to be a pretty weak species.

Raditz's arrival retroactively explains Goku's destructive Oozaru transformations. This thing?

This is the Doom of the Earth. The planet-killer meant to exterminate every last human being on this planet. Boy, sure would be fun to be in the ring with that, huh?

It's also clearly touching down outside of the ring so I don't know why this wasn't a ringout. Since when is the waiting room's rooftop considered part of the stage? But I digress.

When Goku was three years old, his Oozaru was measured to be sufficient to slaughter this world. That is how weak Earth is on the scale. By contrast, Namek is considered to be one of the more powerful worlds. Vegeta describes Namekian fighters as "extraordinary".

That's something we get to see for ourselves, when Extraordinary Namekian Fighters happen to Frieza Force soldiers like a typhoon.

This is what's considered extraordinary on a standard galactic scale. These are three warriors from one of the stronger races in the universe tearing apart soldiers whose job is to exterminate races. Once they start fighting, Dodoria reads their battle powers as 3,000.

For comparison, Raditz was said to be equivalent to a Saibaman at 1,200. We never got a read on Nappa but he found the idea of Kakarot being at 5,000 unbelievable enough to go into denial, and he shit himself over 8,000.

So, with that in mind, we can understand that these nameless Namekian nobodies are pretty fucking tough, well within the realm of Saiyan ability. They're also familiar with advanced martial arts concepts like ki suppression that the Planet Trade doesn't understand.

There's probably a reason why, despite Namek apparently being well known to the Planet Trade, nobody's seen fit to gentrify this one yet. This is a fight Frieza's more elite forces can win, to be sure. But also, there are easier pickings to be had.

And then we have the Saiyans, said to be the most powerful race in the universe. Raditz, a loser scrub who doesn't know a thing about martial arts, is able to thoroughly humiliate Goku and Piccolo in terms of sheer stats, even after Goku's been trained by Popo.

This guy is the Saiyan equivalent of Appule. Goku's been personally trained by God's right-hand attendant, and Piccolo is the reincarnation of God's evil counterpart; These are not humans of this planet, but two guys who demonstrated five years ago that they're in a realm beyond the humans.

And this loser is still doing this to them. This is what a low-rate Saiyan looks like.

And this is what a Saiyan elite looks like:

Like I said, we're never given an official reading on Nappa but he found 5,000 BP to be ridiculous for Goku to have and 8,000 to be unthinkably terrifying. The Daizenshuu pegs him at 4,000, but they also peg Piccolo at 3,500 which would mean Piccolo and Nappa are closely matched.

I don't know about you but I don't see it. But that may just be me.

In any case, this gives us a general understanding of how powerful the races of the universe are. Earthlings weak. Namekians strong. Saiyans strongest. And then there's outliers.

Throughout the universe, there are... mutants. On rare occasions, an individual is born to a race who have vastly, unbelievably, ridiculously, stupidly tremendous ki.

The Planet Trade employs these mutants for their upper staff. Zarbon and Dodoria are mutants, as are the Ginyus and even Frieza himself. Especially Frieza. The reason we've never gotten elaboration on Frieza's race is because Toriyama didn't want Frieza's traits to be taken as indicative of a whole people.

According to interview, Cold was born with abnormally high power and cruelty for his race, and these traits were passed down to his son Frieza. Whatever species they came from, it is nothing like them.

They're not the only ones. The Planet Trade collects and employs these uniquely ultra-powerful mutants for its elite forces. The Saiyans are the strongest race in the universe, but these mutants are the strongest individuals in the universe.

To grasp how powerful these guys are relative to the rest of the universe, we need to talk Saiyans again for a moment. Raditz? Raditz was the yardstick for what the bottom-tier of Saiyans was. He made Earthlings look like trash, but he would have been eaten alive by those unnamed Namekian warriors.

However, a Saiyan's true strength lies in the Oozaru. Goku as an Oozaru was meant to be able to reduce the standing population of the Earth to 0. Raditz, as an Oozaru? Would still have gotten his teeth kicked in by Vegeta, the Saiyan super-elite. He is so ridiculous, he could win a straight fight with the planet-killing Oozaru.

...I mean, not after being beaten within an inch of his life and taking a Genki-Dama to the face, he can't. But if Vegeta were still at the top of his game, this would be a very different fight.

Meanwhile, the Ginyu Force.

So. Yeah. By the time we get to them, we are far beyond the ordinary limits of the universe. Saiyans are the strongest race, and Vegeta's pressing up against the limit of Saiyan ability. He's one Zenkai away from breaking through the Saiyan ceiling. Goku already has.

And these mutants they're up against are the most powerful freak aberrations of unexplained super-ki ever to have occurred anywhere in space.

IIRC it's never directly stated but for reference, Broly would probably be considered a mutant. Whether he is or isn't, he makes as a pretty solid equivalence. These guys are to their respective races what Broly is to Saiyans. What Uub is to humans.

This is all vital context for understanding the way the Ginyu Force fights.

Because.

Like.

You need to understand.

These guys suck.

On purpose.

From a technical standpoint, they're not good fighters. They're sloppy. Poorly trained around big showy moves that are meant to look cool. Style over substance.

This is because they can get away with it. They are the most powerful beings in the universe; Powerful on a scale that is an order of magnitude beyond everybody else that exists. Even the Saiyans look like shit next to these mutants.

Saiyan super-elite hits Recoome with everything he's got right in the face at point-blank range.

And the mutant takes it like a fucking champ. Vegeta's about to be killed by a man who keeps pausing to do this.

The Ginyu Force is badly trained on purpose. Which isn't to say that they're trained to lose fights, but rather that they aren't trained to compete with an equivalent rival. They can afford a martial style focused entirely on showmanship because there is no competition for them. They're too powerful to ever lose fights. Nobody else in the known universe even compares to their mutant might.

Which, as previously noted, is something Frieza is also afflicted by, in different ways. There is no reason for the Ginyus to hone their skills the way the Earthlings do because. Like. Who's going to challenge them? They're naturally born into being top of the field by a wide margin. They're going to auto-win every fight they ever involve themselves in, so their idea of self-improvement is centered instead on looking as cool as possible while they do it.

This is precisely what the Muten-Roshi worked so hard to prevent Goku from becoming.

Something else I mentioned before is that Trunks demonstrates his serious goal-oriented nature by never naming any of his techniques. He has some distinct and identifiable moves, but none of them have a formal name that he shouts out when firing them. He's here to get the job done, not to show off.

The Ginyus are in the opposite boat. They know they can't lose fights, so they are absolutely, 100% here to show off. They name the shit out of their techniques.

Flying knee? Nah, bro. That is a Recoome Kick.

Running in and throwing a punch? Nuh-uh. Recoome Mach Attack.

Lobbing a ki blast at the opponent? Crusher Ball.

These basic attacks are given huge, flashy names. And, I need to specify, they're English names. Moves like the Kamehameha or Taiyoken or Sokidan or Makankosappo also have names but they tend to be Japanese names with descriptive meanings.

Turtle Destruction Wave, signature move of the Turtle School of martial arts.

Fist of the Sun, an intense blinding art.

Winding Ki Bullet, a remote-operated bullet of ki that Yamcha can manipulate how he likes.

Demon Piercing and Killing Light Gun, a Mazoku technique that pierces and kills.

This is not the same thing. These guys are screaming exotic English words to look cool while throwing hands. "RECOOME KICK!!!" Recoome screams in English as he throws a kick.

There is only one other character in Dragon Ball who fights like this.

That's right. Recoome Kick is the same kind of thing as Satan Miracle Special Ultra Super Megaton Punch. All shouted in English as well. The Ginyu Force is what Mr. Satan would be if he was as formidable as the world believes he is.

They're showmen, even moreso than the Earthling martial artists who were born for a tournament stage. Hell, some of Recoome's moves are inspired by pro wrestling.

They are the ultimate demonstration, both of the unquestionable might of the Planet Trade's human resources, and of the absolute waste that is the Planet Trade's capitalist philosophy towards martial arts. The PTO doesn't train warriors; They scout the strongest guys their money can buy and give them marching orders of "Get 'em." Their super-elites are no exception.

Except the Captain.

Much like Vegeta was with Nappa, Ginyu is the only one who gets it. He sees Goku's reading and immediately assesses that Goku's suppressing his ki. Ginyu knows his shit. He's just never drilled this kind of information into his soldiers, opting instead for cool-looking battle poses.

It makes sense that he understands ki suppression. He's Frieza's highest-ranking officer, and Frieza is the universe's unparalleled master at ki suppression. The lengths Frieza has gone to for the sake of suppressing ki....

But he hasn't taught it to his men. They're learning flashy modeling poses instead of martial arts.

I guess I can see the logic. Powerful as they are, why would it matter? Those three extraordinary warriors earlier were also suppressing their ki, but a range of 1k to haha actually 3k doesn't mean shit to the Ginyu Force. If nobody's true strength can match them then why waste time on tactical study?

But unlike his soldiers, Ginyu himself has the spirit of a martial artist. He doesn't waste time on battle poses or scream "GINYU FLYING PUNCH" in English when he throws a punch or do elaborate two-minute windups for his signature moves.

He's even pretty good at reading people. Ginyu lowballs Goku at 60k before the fight, but reassesses after he's traded blows with Goku a few times and estimates 85k instead.

Goku's official non-suppressed Battle Power at this point in time is 90k. So 85k is a pretty fucking good estimate for a guy who can't sense ki. Ginyu knows his shit. He's as reliant on tech as the rest of the PTO but he's experienced enough to have a strong understanding of what various levels fight like.

This is especially impressive when you remember that he's never fought someone at 90k before. Remember, further up, when he first judged Goku as 60k? He was getting excited about his lowball 60k estimate and saying he's never had a chance like this before.

If he's never fought 60k, he's certainly never fought 85k. He just. Knows enough about how lower levels fight that he can apply that knowledge and extrapolate to higher levels. It's an impressive estimation that demonstrates his experience. Ginyu isn't just the second-most powerful guy in the Planet Trade. He's the best martial artist in the Planet Trade, bar none.

He's also got a... theoretically cool ultimate technique that utterly sucks in practice: Body Change.

He may be the best martial artist in the Planet Trade but he's got nothing on martial arts master and analytical counter-fighter Son Goku. It takes Goku no time at all to realize that Ginyu's technique sucks. He doesn't know how to fight with Goku's ki.

Ginyu-Goku thinks this body will give him 180k BP because that's what he read on the Scouter when Goku used the Kaio-ken. But not only does Ginyu not know how to perform Kaio-ken, he doesn't even know how to use Goku's ki at all. It's not his. It doesn't work the same way. In Goku's body, Ginyu's reduced to a distressing 23k BP when Jeice reads him.

He's not just failing to put out Kaio-ken power. He's getting his teeth kicked in by Krillin. It's embarrassing.

I've heard the theory go around that Ginyu started out weak and worked his way up via Body Changing anyone that was ever stronger than him, but I'm not convinced that's the case. Because this right here? This seems like a critical flaw. It's hard to believe he'd be entirely ignorant of this drawback if he's ever seriously used this technique before.

Ginyu being incompatible with a Body Changed host's ki doesn't seem like something an experienced Body Changer would need Goku to explain to him. In practice, the hypothetically awesome technique is bad for reasons Ginyu wasn't able to foresee, not unlike when Tenshinhan brought Shishin no Ken/Multiform to the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai. Or Goku's first time attempting Super Saiyan 3 in a living body. Cool in theory but a massive fucking oversight costs him the entire fight.

This seems more likely to be something Ginyu, the only real martial artist in his crew, developed in his own time and showed off to his men. Something he's never actually stress tested, that he's been sitting on and waiting for an opportunity to use in the field.

Whatever the case, it pins an unexpected and interesting capstone on the Ginyu Force. They're a group of clowns who can get away with clownishness because they were born into unparalleled privilege. And they're led by a shockingly well-educated and capable martial artist who's never worked the kinks out of his ultimate technique for lack of adequate competition in a universe that could rarely hope to ever challenge even his weakest man.

[vanderdyks]

We dont talk enough about the fact that Goku wasnt born strong. Gohan, Vegeta, Broly, Goten, Trunks... all born with innate strength. But Goku... Goku was weak. His entire life growing up, there was ALWAYS someone stronger than him.

For a saiyan to be outmatched by earthlings... ridiculous. But he was. Several times over. Every bit of strength Goku has, he had to work for, train relentlessly for. Its easy to forget because hes so strong now and continiously comes out ahead. But thats the POINT.

Vegeta grew up knowing he was the pride of the saiyan race, born strong, elite, a prodigy. He was hopelessly outmatched by frieza and some of his army, but for a saiyan, vegeta was the strongest (or so he believed).

Because the saiyans put so much belief into power you were born with, power you were destined to have. You either had strength or you didnt. And Goku didnt. So he was third class. His destiny wasnt power, it was weakness.

Its why Vegeta is so constantly thrown off by and therefore obsessed with Goku in the beginning. Because how could someone born so weak be THIS strong? It didnt make sense.

Then we have Gohan, born with incredible hidden reserves of power. Unlike Goku, Gohan was born with potential. His strength was always there. And sure, he had to work incredibly hard to unlock it but its a story arc we keep seeing repeated with gohan. Either its unlocked with anger or someone unlocks it for him (the grand elder, old kai, etc.)

And then Goten and Trunks, both super saiyan by the age of 7. Power came EASY to them. It was as natural as breathing. Goku, Vegeta, and even Gohan all struggled to reach super saiyan. It took a toll. But Trunks and Goten take that power from literal legend and make it a game.

No one has ever had to work as hard as Goku to achieve strength. And you can argue with me on this all day long if you want to. He didnt have hidden powers. There were no hidden reserves, no one to unlock his innate abilities. When he was a child, his unnatural strength compared to human made him special. But for a saiyan, goku was one of the lowest of their race.

Every bit of strength, every morsel of power in gokus body, was built through training. He didnt unlock hidden potentials, HE CREATED them. Its why Goku is the mortal who figures out how to unlock ultra instinct. Because he almost never won a battle purely based off a sheer power, no. Goku had to be smart, needed to be clever. He was forced to hone technique just as much as power, was taught by all his masters the importance of harnessing his mind as well as his body. He grew up meditating, sensing energy, learning not to rely on his eyes, but all his senses. He was training to filter out his own extra unnecessary movements all the way back when he first met Korin and then later again with Kami.

Goku lost fights a lot. All the time. But everytime he lost, he learned. Because he was forced too. Because when Goku lost, there was no backup. He was it. And so he would HAVE to come back stronger, have to find the way to win. Or everyone would be dead.

Maybe its just me but i just think theres something incredibly special about a saiyan labeled as "weak," a saiyan no one bothered to pay any mind to being the first to become legend. He avenged their entire race. That little boy with a tail, born with a power level of 2, became the strongest of them all.

[amiya-shirou]

Since I'm seeing some damn good posts about Vegeta today, I want to jump on the bandwagon and gush about this scene

Because it's so damn relatable. It's the best part of his character development. I've seen people in the past criticize him because they felt he got back to being evil out of nowhere when he was so far in his character development after the end of the Cell Arc and the last 7 years of peace, but this is exactly why it works. Had this happened before that development I wouldn't have thought much of his descent into darkness, but like this? Vegeta getting to his lowest point not because of some traumatic event or because he "had" to settle on Earth, but because he was liking it? It's such an active interaction with his own growth that I never truly understood how powerful it was until some time ago when I rewatched the series after having gone through somewhat similar thoughts myself.

This is the last stage of his development, the bridge connecting the evil warrior prince to the good-hearted family man, and it's not a smooth, quiet progression. It's Vegeta throwing a tantrum. He's terrified of his growth, of becoming someone so different from what he believed himself to be for his whole life as to be completely unrecognizable, and is clinging to the vestiges of his former identity as hard as he can because change makes him feel weak and vulnerable. All this despite the fact that deep down he knows it's useless to do so - he can never go back to how he was before. Despite everything he did, as soon as he realizes that Buu is a concrete danger to his family, he swallows his pride, puts an end to his "real warrior" fight with a trick, hugs his son and fights Buu alone, stepping up as a true defender of the Earth for the first time.

And it's only after this, after venting all his frustrations, after literally dying and being reborn, that he can truly embrace his new role, the person he's grown up into during the last seven years. The Vegeta who returns at the end of the arc is so much stronger than he's ever been, so much more mature that not only is he fine with letting Goku upstage him, he's the one who has the idea to let the Earthlings step up to protect their planet. Everytime he faced a villain by himself, relying only on his strength and warrior pride, he either failed or made the problem worse. When he faces a villain with proper planning and teamwork, he causes the death of the strongest villain in the series, with the Spirit Bomb working for the first time in the whole manga (ironically it never amounted to much when it was Goku choosing to use it).

Toriyama cooked so much with him.

[bruciemilf]

I think it’d be so hilarious if Goku had chronic little brother syndrome and always says Raditz is the strongest enemy he ever faced. “Well he’s the first person who beat me, so yeah ^^” Vegeta’s hairline recedes as we speak

[arkolovesgoku]

i’m going to go on a small rant about dragon ball super Goku

so the first ever dragon ball show i watched was dragon ball super cause at that time all i had was a school chromebook and an illegal website (😭) which had very limited anime to watch.

they only had dragon ball super. no dragon ball, dragon ball z or gt. so yeah, i started off getting into the dbz fandom by watching the worst series in the entire franchise (according to other people)

at the beginning i was super confused, like, “what?? he has a son? a wife?? two sons?? am i missing something?” but i pushed through and i absolutely fell in love with dbs.

it was that series that got me into dragon ball and everything, and i have a huge amount of respect towards it. it has some pretty good arcs, especially the TOP arc. but as i went back towards the beginning, watched og db and dbz, i started to realize that dbz Goku was not the same as dbs Goku.

Goku. isn’t. stupid.

well yeah, he’s still kinda dumb (and i find that absolutely adorable), but not to the point where he doesn’t understand the most basic concepts of anything that isn’t fighting.

i refuse to believe that his level of understanding is that of like a 5 year old toddler.

so to make super a bit more bearable, i have a little headcanon.

Goku just acts dumb because he finds everyone’s reactions hilarious.

like in ep 42, where Beerus disguises himself as Monaka (probably filler but still), i like to think he pretended not to know that Beerus was actually in the costume and internally had a wheezing fit seeing the destroyer put on an uncomfortable outfit.

actually, i think he just went along with the entire “Monaka is the strongest warrior i’ve ever fought” thing because it’s funny seeing Beerus panic

also Chichi’s probably in on his little secret too.

[rozamasu]

Dragon Ball Z/Super: Comparing and contrasting Goku and Zamasu— two sides of the same coin? (Long post full of yapping!)

The Goku Black arc consistently portrays Black/Zamasu to be ideological parallels to Trunks for obvious reasons (Hope vs Despair, Selfishness vs Selflessness, he's the protagonist of this arc, etc.), but I think it's an interesting exercise to compare Zamasu's journey to Goku's. In my opinion, it really hammers in why Zamasu failed to reach enlightenment and fell from grace besides "mortals = stupid and barbaric" and plain old narcissism.

Everyone knows Goku's story by now, but I want to hone in on the part that I believe Zamasu's own parallels.

The beginning of Z features Goku gradually being introduced to entirely new realms of power and scale. He has to team up with the guy he worked his ass off to defeat 5 years ago just to barely defeat Raditz, a mid class Saiyan, sacrificing his own life in the process.

He is informed constantly by Vegeta that he is nothing but low-class scum, born at the bottom of the interplanetary Saiyan "totem pole", compared to Vegeta's own super-elite-royalty-goodness.

Then, by Namek, he manages to surpass Vegeta, and even trounces the emperor of the universe who subjugated the entire Saiyan race. After Namek, Goku grows so much that the conceptions of "class" that he was blindsided by quickly become faint memories, only brief blips in his life's work to always get stronger.

Not to be the strongest, or even to become "the strongest Saiyan who ever lived", simply to get stronger. Goku's goal is forever ongoing; he will never feel as if his duty is complete. If it ever was, he'd be restless and unsatisfied.

The key thread throughout the Saiyan and Frieza Sagas is that Goku never uses the labels ascribed to him or his opponents as anything more than momentary benchmarks in service of his overarching, everlasting goal to achieve more and more strength. He does not hear Vegeta's boasts about his status and go "okay, guess I'll be good enough once I can beat Vegeta in a 1 on 1, since I'll basically be a super elite!". He hears King Kai's fervent warnings about Frieza's terrible strength and gets curious rather than demotivated.

He doesn't use either of these as an excuse to run away or quit training.

In fact, Goku never uses anything as an excuse. He is not married to any sort of arbitrary benchmark of strength (that honor goes to Chi Chi), even in Super as he gains power that rivals Gods of Destruction.

To treat a level of strength, or a class (God of Destruction, Angel, Super Elite, Emperor of the Universe) as a stopping point for Goku or some sort of ultimate goal would imply that Goku's desire for strength has a defined end. But it doesn't, and so Goku doesn't put much stock into those things. He never loses sight of his goal, and he literally doesn't even stop training when he's dead.

As for Zamasu, the beginning of his journey is why I thought to juxtapose him with Goku in the first place. He shares a surprising similarity with early Z Goku, in that both were able to achieve greater statuses than their birth would afford them.

Zamasu started off as a normal Kai, the guardian of a universal quadrant (the North, same as King Kai). In terms of Dragon Ball's divine hierarchy, this is actually quite the low standing. It is the second lowest known class of Gods, only ranking above planetary deities like Kami and Dende. If a Core Person (Kai race) is born from a rare, special golden fruit, only then will they be qualified enough to train to be a Supreme Kai.

Zamasu is the only known canon example of a normal Kai being selected to become a Supreme Kai, and so his exceptional ascension up the divine hierarchy is a natural parallel to Goku's own defiance of his low-class nature and his comparatively low power level at birth.

Unlike Goku, however, Zamasu is absolutely obsessed with and bound by certain labels, which ultimately leads to his ideological downfall.

Firstly, we can see his fixation on the idea of godhood when he speaks to Gowasu.

When Gowasu simply tells him to temper himself and observe mortals, he immediately begins focusing on and belittling the gods' philosophy, almost outright saying "what the gods think does NOT align with justice". The way he phrases these sentences in both the dub and sub is key: he says "I thought you'd teach me justice, but...", which creates a juxtaposition between "divinity" and "REAL justice".

He even begins to doubt that a god could be considered a god if they did not align with his definition of justice.

Zamasu is young and inexperienced for a Kai (especially considering regular Kais have far shorter biological lifespans than Supreme Kais), so the reactions he displays in this scene suggest that he had a very romanticized, linear view of both godhood and justice. When Gowasu's statement suggests to Zamasu that he can't reconcile the two, it basically calls out all that Zamasu currently stands for, and he doesn't take it well.

Gowasu ends the discussion by challenging Zamasu's narrowminded belief that gods are "absolute" and perfect, but by then the two are already unable to get through to one another.

If you look at the other gods in Dragon Ball, you'll see what Gowasu means here. For example, Beerus is lazy, temperamental, and childish; none of the other gods really like him. Elder Kai is a lecher. Champa is rather undignified and just as temperamental as Beerus.

Where Goku seeks strength, Zamasu seeks virtue. Yet, unlike Goku, Zamasu has an arbitrary benchmark at where his objective stops: the abstract concept of "godhood".

When Zamasu reaches that endpoint and finds that it's not all it's cracked up to be, he constantly contorts his definition of divinity to match it— or rather, to match himself— rather than accepting that being a god is not equivalent to having a "perfect" sense of justice, or being "perfect" in general. He commits barbaric, brutal, bloodthirsty, and wanton acts, all in the name of "divine justice", despite those things being less becoming of gods and more becoming of mortals.

The dilemma extends to the very end of the arc, where in the dub Corrupted Merged Zamasu says to Vegetto: "If one can't control a world, one can't be called a god of it", instantly justifying his hypocrisy, his sadism, his violence, and his arrogance instead of looking inward and asking himself what it meant to be a god.

Like Gowasu said, Zamasu was "obsessed with the contradictions of gods and mortals", and as Trunks said, "it isn't about gods or mortals". Zamasu was so enamored with the idea and label of godhood, yet did not question whether or not his values, the values of his future counterpart, or the values of the other gods aligned with it. And how could he have questioned it if he didn't truly know what godhood meant himself— if he just used the idea as a synonym for what he believed?

Where Goku saw arbitrary labels as inconsequential to his overarching quest, Zamasu saw his life be entirely dictated by them. Zamasu allowed himself to be entrenched in the god-mortal dichotomy, whereas Goku's nature would never allow him to lose his big-picture goal like that.

When Goku's reality is challenged, whether by the introduction of some groundless measure of value (power level, Saiyan class) or by a vastly stronger opponent, he doesn't flinch. He doesn't stop. He doesn't make excuses. His overall goal doesn't change.

When Zamasu's reality was challenged, he broke and became everything he hated. He bent and twisted the rules of what he considered "just", and shattered the natural divine order by doing away with all Gods of Destruction. His goal, by then, was unrecognizable compared to his previous goal to be a benevolent Supreme Kai.

Where Goku's triumphs led him to continue being diligent and humble, Zamasu's own led him to be stagnant and arrogant. Even though Zamasu was proactive and cunning, he was stagnant in the sense that none of what he did made him more moral or virtuous, or gave him a greater understanding of the universe, even though those were the things he originally sought when studying under Gowasu.

All he did was further embed himself (literally, with Future Zamasu) within his own radical beliefs; he never progressed towards his original goal because he replaced it with "I am THE God, no more gods are needed, I will exterminate all mortals personally". His arrogance and inability to see gods as flawed beings made him lose the plot.

Goku continued working hard and getting stronger after vanquishing Frieza, whereas Zamasu's entitlement made him become a complete shell of himself.

Goku saw his growth from low-class warrior to Legendary Super Saiyan to be a testament to everything he stood for; the desire to protect and avenge his friends, his inherited Saiyan pride from Vegeta, and most importantly, his neverending journey to get stronger. Zamasu saw his ascension from North Kai to Supreme Kai as an excuse. A stopping point. An "okay, I've reached the pinnacle of the virtue I seek", refusing to accept that there was more beyond the arbitrary value and moral standing he placed on the role of a god, refusing to think mortals could ever possibly learn, and refusing to think gods could ever need to learn.

Zamasu is a dark reflection of Goku— Son Goku is everything that Zamasu is not. Zamasu is the opposite of many reasons that Goku is such a distinct and unique character, and that makes both of them all the more compelling.

[zeevoidlight]

Vegeta and Nappa, why did Vegeta killed him.

One of my favorite characters of all time since i was a child is without a doubt Vegeta.

I've seen this question being asked constantly so i'll give my take one it now. I know many people don't like the "because Saiyans" type of explanation but one cannot ignore that their nature is much different from humans and is a great part of who they are and why they do the things they do. So my approach is usually try to see what of all that is actually because of their nature and what is just being used as a cultural shield, specially when it comes to both Vegeta and Goku. More Vegeta because he lies a lot as well, and despite being Saiyan his status as royalty changes the usual dynamic a bit compared to others of his own species. (note that i watched the latin version so my interpretation of the character might be different from that of the english one)

So regarding the topic:

Realistically and sadly, as much as I like this alternate reality people usually like to portray of Nappa being Vegeta's assigned babysitter, taking care of Raditz as well, the three of them being like a small family unit given that they only had each other as survivors of their people's extinction... I think the reality is a lot more complicated.

Being a Saiyan, and more than that the strongest Saiyan by far in their recent history, even stronger than the King himself, Vegeta was capable of taking care of himself better than Nappa. He never saw Nappa as a protector because Vegeta was leagues ahead of Nappa in terms of strength and rank. We see that on the first Bardock movie where he treats Nappa as a servant, and even asks Frieza to let him go alone to a more challenging planet to conquer where he ends up killing everyone, sitting on a rock in the middle of a pile of corpses of his own making and eating twinkies or something as he was getting news of his Planet's destruction, thinking already what was going to be his next move and hiding his concern from Frieza's informant. All of that at the age of 5.

He never saw Nappa as akin to family because for as young as he was Vegeta was still his superior. Plus Vegeta considered himself smarter than him too, and he actually was even as a child. Vegeta was, on the contrary, protecting Nappa and Raditz, and consequently himself, against Frieza and his men by playing the long game while those two probably constantly screwed up and tried to engage in an unwinnable battle. This kid didn't had the opportunity to be a kid since he was born. Always on a minefield.

As how I see it, the reason why Vegeta killed Nappa then wasn't only because Goku broke Nappa's spine and paralyzed him leaving him quadriplegic and unable to fight rendering him as dead weight, but because he was years long fed up with Nappa as well. Maybe even with what he represented as the last remains of the Saiyan kingdom and the past since he was perfectly comfortable being the last Saiyan alive as representation of what a true Saiyan was in his own understanding and values of it, considering himself the peak of that and the example for everyone else to see, which being a prince he was kinda always pressured into being that and thinking of himself as such anyways. And Nappa's embarrassing fight was the last drop and the perfect excuse to get rid of him. Dude couldn't fathom something so disgraceful that he preferred to kill him than keep enduring his presence any longer while pretending he cared (and the emotions were kinda running high).

Even after in GT when he sees Nappa again there's nothing but contempt against him. And you could say anything about GT but what I appreciate greatly of it is the character consistency.

Note: I've been watching DB and Z and it's very clear from the moment they arrive to Earth that Vegeta can't with Nappa's recklessness. When Nappa destroys East city Vegeta is like 'dude, has it ever occur to you that the dragon balls could have been here? You idiot! Don't destroy the planet, we could sell it, don't be a stupid, think, fight better, concentrate, his not fighting intelligent... Lol, by the time of Nappa asking Vegeta for help I can totally imagine Vegeta was thinking 'you know what Nappa... FUCK YOU' *yeet!

[shannonsketches]

Same. I chalked Piccolo's commentary up to either uninformed narrator, since he's really not around them much outside of battle,

or the fact that Goku's what started the chain of events that led to where Vegeta is now, since that's why Raditz came to Earth in the first place

or it's just a reference to how Goku's happy chill vibes are a generally good influence on the people around him, which Vegeta also credits Goku with in the Buu Saga (as derogatory, but still)

But definitely took with a grain of salt because the only thing Goku's actually done for Vegeta is be a moving goal post and call him a liar when he was lying skdalk

my post about gohan deserving more credit for Vegeta’s growth is going around again and my two braincells decided to say

“Bulma pried that door open, but Gohan wedged the crowbar in.”

“What about Goku”

“Goku is the crowbar”

[howlingday]

Yang VS Jaune

Goku VS Superman story

--------------------------------------------------

Thunder echoed across the mountain range, disturbing the peaceful wildlife that lived there. At the source of these explosions were two combatants, each brave heroes in their own right. One was a huntress from an island north of Vale, training her mind, body, and spirit to become the strongest who ever lived. Her opponent was a huntsman from a small farming community from the south, raised from humble beginnings and trained to be the greatest protector of Remnant. They'd once met as little more than colleagues but steadily grew into becoming rivals. And today, Yang Xiao Long was ready to prove herself against Jaune Arc.

Yang: Today's the day, Vomit Boy! Today we settle who's stronger~!

Jaune: (Chuckles) If you say so.

Jaune charged at his brawler foe, his armored weight shaking the ground as he barreled towards her. Yang gave a smirk as she slapped his punch away, deflecting herself out of his path. Watching her fly over made him grin, something she held as well as she struck him from behind with a swift heel kick.

Jaune rolled through a tree in his flight, stopped only as Yang cut him off and struck him from every direction. Jaune, now with bearings regained, delivered hard blows in kind, only to be deflected once more by a kick to the chin. Both fighters stared each other down for a moment before continuing their tear across the forests of Sanus.

More booming strikes were given back and forth them until Jaune boosted the aura within his eyes in an attempt to distract Yang. This didn't work as Yang blinked out of sight. Once Jaune blinked, Yang appeared in front of him and delivered a hook kick before blinking out once more. This time, she appeared behind him and delivered another kick into him.

Yang: You're holding back!

Jaune: (Hit from every angle)

Yang: Give me your all!

Jaune: (Grabbed by his armor)

Yang: (Spins him around) NO REGRETS!

Jaune: (Rolls to his feet) I'm doing just fine, thank you!

With little effort on his part, Jaune launched himself at Yang and knocked her across a lake. She really felt that one as her semblance flared her body to shine like gold with a superheat that caused water on the shore to evaporate just from her being nearby! Jaune quickly crossed the water to strike but was easily dodged by Yang once more with a simple leap and a struck him into the water. As he fell, he saw the golden light concentrate to a single point as Yang began to chant her mantra above him.

Yang: Golden Dragon Wave!

Jaune yelled as he was knocked deeper below the waves, searing heat scorching his body like dragon fire! However, Yang noticed something was off. Faster than she could respond to, Jaune shot out of the lake like a cannon, just over her attack, and hit her hard once again, sending her flying across Remnant. Chasing her, Jaune swung and missed as Yang dodged, and the two entered their aerial combat dance, perhaps unknowing that they'd left the world of Remnant and entered orbit!

The Shattered Moon hanging just overhead, Jaune and Yang clashed outside of all but the Brother's view. Jaune threw a punch, but was easily dodged as Yang delivered one-inch counter punch that knocked Jaune back just enough to give her the chance to launch fireballs at him. Jaune responded to these projectiles with using his eye beams once more, decimating most of them before grabbing one in his hand. Tossing it aside, he was too late to realize it was heading for-

BOOM!

The formerly known Shattered Moon, now known as the Obliterated Moon.

Yang: Whoops! Ha ha! Well, I guess we can always make a new one, right?

Jaune: (Flexes hand) Paper-thin world... (Smiles) Alright! I'll show you just how powerful I really am~!

Yang: (Giggles)

With a single strike, Yang caught a glimpse of a tear in reality, one in which she was a lot more dragon-y than usual, with scales and everything, as she duked it out with a much more knightly looking Jaune. She was sent flying a lot farther than before, stopping herself in time to throw a counter at the near-teleporting image of Jaune, who blinked out and struck again, making her see another tear in which black fire erupted from her hands against the rainbow-hued eye beams of a more sinister looking Jaune. Sent further away from Remnant, still reeling in pain, Yang didn't notice Jaune had already sped ahead of her to deliver a two-handed hammer-fist blow to her back, forcing another vision of another world in which she, in much simpler clothes, challenged a planet-sized being that looked dangerously similar to Jaune. The visions came to an end as she hurtled back down to Remnant, landing not in the Kingdom of Vale but crashed into the deserts of Vacuo!

Picking Yang up from her crash site, he tossed her into the side of a mountain. Or was it a plateau? In any case, she hit the stony structure hard. So hard, in fact, that the impact shredded her jacket and knocked the golden shine from her hair. Jaune stood in front of Yang with a beaming smile, but hers was even bigger and brighter.

Jaune: So? What do you think?

Yang: Heeheehee~! That was AWESOME~! By the way, nice shirt!

Jaune: Oh! Uh, thanks! Old Arc family fabric. My sister said it was the same kind our grandpa wo-

Yang: HYA!

Yang's attempt to strike Jaune from behind while he was distracted didn't work so well, so she tried again. Then tried again. Even as Jaune lazily blocked her strikes, she continued to battle. Going in for the counter, Jaune aimed right for Yang's face. Time slowed around her, so she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Jaune rocketed past Yang faster than she casually stepped aside with her hair glowing white.

Faster than Jaune could react, Yang delivered a gut punch that bent Jaune over. As Yang backflipped away from another punch, lights glittered around Jaune, each exploding all at once like tiny, little fire-bombs. The smile knocked off Jaune's face and a more mischievous one settled on Yang's, the two charged one another across the arid skies. Jaune unleashed a wave of eye beams so intense that they sliced the peaks off distant mountains!

Yang moved in, countering Jaune's blows with either blocks or dodges, slipping in hooks, crosses, jabs, uppercuts, and even a few kicks until Jaune was left immobilized by the assault. Having enough of being stuck in one place, Jaune super-charged his semblance to unleash an explosion of aura that destroyed everything around him! Everything, that is, except for Yang.

Tired by the sudden outburst of his aura, Jaune took to the skies and beyond Remnant's orbit once more. However, this time, he went further than the Obliterated Moon. He flew into the source of all life on Remnant, the Sun, and then traveled even further beyond, reaching a dozen or even a hundred or a thousand, maybe even a million different suns! Back on Remnant, Yang gave a soft smile as the sky began to glow brighter and brighter with from a more intense beacon of light than the star that greeted her every morning.

Yang: Finally...

Crouching into a horse stance, Yang gathered her aura. All of it, every last bit, and focused it into a single point in her hands. This technique, the same one she used earlier, the very same she'd been taught by her father, allowed her to gather all of her fighting spirit and concentrated it into a single beam of aura. As it built, she chanted the same mantra she'd always had, ever since her first day at Signal.

Yang: GOOOLDEEEN...

Yang: DRAAAGOOON...

Jaune then began his return to Remnant. The world he grew up on looked so small, so delicate from here, and yet its growing size did little to ease his worry. Even though he'd faced challenges greater than himself time and time again, fearing for his life every time, he knew he'd do it over and over again every time, because that's what she would have done. Shining with a golden light, he moved forward and kept pushing on.

WAAAAAAAAVE!

Remnant quaked as a tower, no, a CONTINENT of golden aura erupted from its orbit! This was only matched as a smaller, more concentrated beam of golden light pierced a path through towards the huntress. With a scream, she activated her semblance, forcing the beam to explode out with more power, more intensity that destroyed the world behind her. But this blast, too, however, was also cut through as the huntsman neared her position.

Using the last of her strength, Yang Xiao Long formed a conduit of pure aura from her, a titanic version of herself, and launched a fist the size of a mountain at her opponent. Jaune Arc replied with his own punch, the cosmos themselves shaking as a shockwave destroyed all of creation, shattering reality and leaving only a white void.

Yang groaned, opening her eyes, wincing from the bright world around her, confused by the white space. Looking down, she saw that she was still whole, her body still intact. It wasn't until she saw the ring above her head that she let out a sigh.

Yang: Ah, darn it.

A chuckle nearby drew her attention to Jaune, who was smiling in his cracked armor and tattered clothes.

Jaune: You almost had me there! That was actually pretty fun.

Yang: Yeah, it sure was!

Yang gave a laugh of her own, but it was short-lived as she stood up, clenching her fist with more competitive, but no less friendly grin.

Yang: But I'll be stronger next time!

Jaune: I look forward to it.

Jaune turned away from the blonde brawler, looking to the shattered reality around them. In the tears in the rifts, the two saw windows into countless, alternate worlds. In these windows of different Yang and different Jaunes, there were only three constants.

There was always a Yang.

There was always a Jaune.

And even though they fought in some tears, they were always friends.

Yang: ...

Jaune: ...

Yang: (Holds out her fist) Wanna go again~?

Jaune: (Bumps her fist) You bet~!

[chickenoptyrx]

You do so right by z Broly, you understand his potential. Your au with him and Trunks is a delight

Glad we all appreciate my blatant misrepresentation of the character 😌 im partly joking but man fr, 12 year old me would hate that instead of him bein a badass edgy monster, I draw him as.. *checks notes* .. an immature loser with bad coping mechanisms uwu

Ok but in true ask tradition! :U im hijacking this ask to talk about a dumb theory thats been rolling around in my head for like 2 years now: android 16 and broly similarities:

Ok so. If you aren't aware. The android arc of dragon ball was originally going to focus on the androids 19 & 20 and trunks even names them specifically

But Toriyamas former editor, Kazuhiko Torishima, didn't like them as the main antagonists and so Toriyama changed it to focus on 17 & 18 as the bad guys and introduced 16 as a sort of mystery

Now. This gets almost completely dropped once that same former editor ALSO doesn't like these androids and cell becomes the main villian for the arc (yeah yeah, the bomb thing is technically *there*, but its so inconsequential most people forget its even a thing :T )

So. Idk exactly when movie 8 went into production, but we know Brolys LSSJ form was inspired by trunks SSJ grade3 form that appears several chapters after cell has been introduced and the androids have become power-up fodder, so im gonna argue its safe to say the decision to move away from their story had been made

(side tangent that I find absolutely hilarious btw- despite gokus commentary in the HTC, SSJ grade 3 was the strongest form of ssj we saw at this point, so its pretty appropriate to use it as the basis of the strongest scariest ssj form.... rrriiiiiiiiggght up until toriyama introduced SSJ2 on Feb 2, 1993- near exactly 1 month before the first Broly movie hit theaters. Completely undermined what, up til then, looked like a trend in stronger form = bigger and beefier right as the big beefy strongest guy ever movie came out 🤣 absolutely love it!)

So anyways. The movies overall also tend to have varying degrees of similarities with recent arcs in the show and Toriyama, while not overly involved, would give the studio designs and story notes. And. Idk. Yall can tell me im reaching if ya want, but: A guy who's made into a weapon by his father who's on a quest for revenge and has this conflicting view of his son as both someone he feels he failed to protect, someone he cares about, but also as a tool for that revenge, and someone who's destructive power hes become deeply afraid of.. now where have we seen somethin like that 🤔 may be an extra reach but I also think its neat that despite their different face shape, Toriyamas gave em the same expression

Lol they're also both just ridiculously tall bastards. Like for no gd reason. And yeah, to me atleast, it explains why hating goku specifically gets shoehorned into brolys backstory (listen I can absolutely do the mental gymnastics to make it make sense! I'm fine with it! Its fine! I actually like it! ... but it IS a dumb shoehorned plot point! Both things can be true D:< ) look just lookit these tall ass shits

Anyway. My last note is just this statement from Toriyama about 16 and Gero. The way gero is presented is really in line with how I see Paragus as this tragic failure of a father- honestly caring about his kid, but letting grief and revenge drive him into conflicting corners where he wants revenge FOR the life denied his son, but also actively shaping his son into such a terrifying weapon that ultimately hed rather his kid just never be conscious cause thats the 'only way to keep them safe'

“Dr. Gero’s son who died young a long time ago served as the visual model for Android 16. He was a high-ranking soldier for the Red Ribbon Army but was shot down by the enemy. Dr. Gero reserved special feelings for 16 as “his son,” and although he equipped 16 with immense power and a frightening destructive device, he didn’t want to see him be defeated on the battlefield and thus programmed him to have a gentle personality. 16 was consequently considered a failed creation.” The smaller caption below Toriyama’s quote reads: “Was the reason Dr. Gero didn’t want to activate 16 perhaps because of his parental love to not see him destroyed?”

[deusvervewrites]

I am bored and in the mood to bother you about it. What's the problem with how Overpowered is used? (Not by anon specifically, and keeping in mind I say Warframe lets you be overpowered as an excellent gameplay mechanic.)

There are a few problems with an Overpowered character, but what bothers me more is the people who use the term incorrectly.

Warframe does not let you be Overpowered. Warframe is a Power Fantasy. Both Warframe and Dynasty Warriors and the like feature individual super-badasses mowing down thousands of nameless mooks, but progress isn't made that way. It's made by fighting people on approximately the same level. In DW, that's named enemy units who can fight as well as you can. In Warframe, that's mostly done in big story moments. And no gun you have in Warframe is big enough to stop Praghasa or The Man in the Wall.

Generally, the term Overpowered in fiction is applied to works with some form of power system, for reasons I feel should be obvious, but technically the idea exists in other genres. A phone trivializes being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a slasher villain, which is why the phone signal always goes out. A single Xenomorph can slaughter a small crew of civilians, but Aliens had way more of them because the protagonists were now trained soldiers. (Also there was some social commentary but that's less important to the topic at hand)

But in gameplay terms, Overpowered refers to a strategy or game piece--something that the player can use to interact with gameplay systems, ranging from cards to characters to powers to weapons--that is objectively better than alternatives. It doesn't even have to be by much. Let's say your game has two weapons in it, a sword that deals 2 damage, and a sword that deals 3. Assuming that enemies have more than four health, there is literally no reason to ever use the sword that deals 2 damage because it is objectively worse. Thus, the 3-damage sword is Overpowered because it has forced everyone to use it.

But why would a game developer introduce an objectively better weapon? Power Creep. This is another gameplay and game design term that got thrown at fictional power systems for some reason. Power Creep is when developers make new game pieces that are better than old ones. Any game that goes on long enough will have Power Creep simply because of the number of new game pieces introduced, because human brain like it when number go up, but a good designer knows to limit Power Creep as much as possible. Why? Because Power Creep invalidates previous content, and people don't like it when the devs take their stuff away. Instead, most designers try to progress sideways. New gear and strategies are introduced, but are roughly on-par with what came before.

What does this have to do with fictional power systems? Well, authors often feel as though escalation is the best way to raise narrative tension. Introducing a new bad guy who's like the old bad guy, But Stronger, is an easy way for an author to raise the stakes. The problem with this method is that it's unsustainable. It turns everything into a numbers game. Whoever has the biggest number wins. In essence, every arc is, "Bad Guy arrives and trounces Hero. Hero then gets stronger and has a rematch and wins." You can write a story that way, it's how Dragon Ball works, but after a while, the numbers become meaningless. People have been leveling this complaint at the Dragon Ball franchise for years now, even before Super started and those criticisms really got going.

Authors have gotten around this in a few ways, such as giving the Stronger Bad Guy an exploitable weakness, or giving their major antagonists unique gimmicks instead of higher stats, but that's getting off-topic.

Can you see the difference here? A character's power level is oftentimes very different from how overpowered items and strategies work in games. Goku isn't Overpowered because he's the strongest protagonist, he's Overpowered because he's so strong that none of the other characters ever get to do anything. Both Super and GT tried to fix this, Super by making Vegeta also do things and GT by making Goku a kid. Unfortunately, neither of these are great solutions since Super put a bandaid on the problem and GT did it in a really stupid way that should've been easily fixed if the plot didn't mandate that it wasn't. A better solution was used by Super later on in their Tournament of Power arc because, and I need you to follow me on this one, characters who were not Goku or Vegeta got to participate. Shocking I know.

The flaw in an overpowered character is in poor story structure, poor planning, and underutilizing the cast. Not how strong they actually are. Koro-Sensei from Assassination Classroom is the Unkillable Teacher, but the show is about how E Class rallies and grow as people, plus a lot of social commentary, so the fact that their assassination attempts fail doesn't matter as much.

And that's why I'm so furious that when you look up advice for writing power systems, the only argument they have for putting a limitation on your power system is that "an overpowered character isn't realistic."

I want to write a story about people who can magically make someone's head explode, Janet! I don't give a fuck about realism!

You know who gets it? Of course you do. I'm talking about the author when it comes to power systems. Brandon Sanderson. More specifically, his Second Law of Magic Systems: Limitations Are More Interesting Than Powers.

If anyone can blow up a mountain, who cares? But if your characters can only use their special moves when certain conditions are met, then suddenly the fight becomes a race to meet your conditions first. And that has tension! Drama! You know, that thing stories are supposed to have!