#as well as the classic King Vegeta look

[mnemesis-held]

Playing dress-up with him today

[duhragonball]

I like to think that part of the appeal of Dragon Ball is the fact these random martial artists keep on taking on world-ending threats, because they are the only ones strong enough to do it. For that reason, do you think Dragon Ball would have gotten as good as it did if none of it's villains could blow up the world?

No, I don't think that would have affected the quality of Dragon Ball.

To be sure, blowing up the whole world is a cool way to raise the stakes. It's awesome how Vegeta tried to ragequit his invasion of Earth, and Goku had to stand his ground because the entire planet would have been destroyed if he didn't try to repel that world-ending Gallick Gun. It's also awesome that Frieza tried to destroy Namek because it was easier than fighting a Super Saiyan. It's awesome that Cell had a self-destruct feature, and the only way to foil it was to take him to a different planet with a smaller population. And of course, it's awesome that Majin Buu just went ahead and destroyed the Earth, and no one could stop him, and the story just kept on going anyway. Those are all big impressive story beats, and Dragon Ball might be poorer without them.

All that said, I don't think taking them out would make the story worse. The Red Ribbon Army arc was great, and the height of their power was that they could probably conquer the Earth with the right leadership and resources. The King Piccolo stuff was great, and the most he could do was to subjugate the Earth and perhaps wipe out its population.

I think it says a lot how the Piccolo Junior arc was such a classic, and yet the stakes were basically the same as the arc before it. Piccolo is back, and if Goku can't stop him then he'll just repeat what he did before. It works. The only real difference there is that Piccolo Junior was stronger and laser focused on eliminating Goku.

Radditz threatened to kill everyone on Earth and sell the empty planet to the highest bidder, which is cool because it goes beyond even what Piccolo had planned for it, which reinforced the notion of Piccolo and Goku teaming up to stop him.

Now you could stop right there, and continue the story with that same limit on "How bad could it get?" and things still work. Frieza planned to destroy Namek after making his wish, so that no one else could use the Dragon Balls, but he needn't have bothered, since killing Guru and the other Namekians would settle that just as easily. Cell's self-destruct could have just been some sort of biological agent that would kill everyone without damaging the planet itself. Kid Buu could have just fought Goku and Vegeta on Earth, though admittedly that's a tough call. You set this guy up as a planet-destroying monster, so it strains credibility that he's stuck on Earth for two days and never goes through with it.

Still, I think there's more to the story than just blowing up planets. Look at Super Hero, where all the major players are much, much stronger than the "planet busters" of Z, and yet it never comes up. Nobody in the story wants to destroy the Earth, so the fact that they can doesn't come into play. Cell Max seems to be nearly mindless, but he also knows how to fight pretty well, so he must have some rudimentary control over his power, which keeps him from wrecking the earth every time he goes berserk. I assume his self-destruct is designed the same way. It's contained to destroy whatever killed him, but it doesn't blow up the whole world because Dr. Hedo isn't as nihilistic as his grandfather was.

"The whole world might be destroyed!" is just a tool, one of many that Akira Toriyama had in his toolbox. The fact is, once he introduced that level of power, he couldn't really raise the stakes much higher. Villains like Buu or Zamasu could destroy every planet, but it basically amounts to the same thing, so Dragon Ball has been on that same level of stakes ever since Vegeta fought Goku for the first time 35 years ago. And if the stories have been all right over those past 35 years, then there really isn't a need to raise the stakes any higher, is there?

Likewise, if he had kept that notion off the table, and the worst Vegeta could do was to render the Earth uninhabitable or something, then we'd have 35 years of that being the worst anyone could do, and I don't think it would make that much of a difference.

To come at it from a different direction, I don't think "villains who can blow up the world" is what made Dragon Ball good. It was already good well before that came into play. And if Toriyama could tell a great story without that angle, then he's no worse off with or without it.

I was thinking the other day about how irritating it gets when fans argue over whether "O.G. Dragon Ball" is better or worse than "Z". They're the same story, after all. It's like arguing over which half of a movie is better. But it struck me that this is a big part of Toriyama's legacy. Dragon Ball is such a classic that fans talk about it like he made two classics and debate which one is the best. That's pretty damn impressive.

I think it proves that there's not some single "special ingredient" that makes the story work. Way back in the beginning, it was made clear that martial artists have a duty to use their special skills to help people, and that's been the through-line of Dragon Ball. Saving the entire planet from some world-busting menace is taking that idea to the extreme, but the idea still works, even if it's just Goku helping a sea turtle get back home, or tackling the Red Ribbon base to wish Upa's dad back to life.

[floating-mid-air]

The Princess of All Saiyans

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Masterlist

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So first things first. I should probably mention that I killed Chi-Chi off before the start of the story. I completely forgot to include it in the notes last chapter. So sorry if there was any confusion there.

Ever since the last chapter, I've been kinda hooked on flashbacks. So there will be another one, this one featuring the man, the myth, the legend, the most ruthless of all the Saiyans King Vegeta. Also, my dumbass finally decided to create a Masterlist. I realized it's much easier than linking chapters individually. 

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Chapter 7

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You've been on Planet Namek for approximately two hours, and the day has already been tremendously eventful. You and Vegeta have already had a run-in with Cui, who arrived shortly after you. That purple cretin went out the same way he lived as a spineless coward. Something was extremely satisfying about watching Vegeta drive that failure into the ground. Cui's demise was entirely his own fault. It's common knowledge that Saiyans grow stronger after a near-death experience. Underestimating your brother's growth was an act of pure stupidity.

After that minor inconvenience, the two of you toon into Dodoria's transmission, it sounds like those goons are slaughtering a village of Namekians, so they must store their Dragon Balls in separate settlements. Either that or they're executing them for leisure. Both are feasible possibilities. From what you've been able to gather, Frieza has four Dragon Balls in his possession, and he's currently after his fifth. Frieza even reveals some essential information on how these Namkeian villages operate. Before the signal cuts off entirely. 

Vegeta attempts to find another channel, but they all come up as static. "Those Namekians must be craftier than they look. Something tells me Frieza's scouters are out of commission."

"Perhaps." He turns to you. "Or they figured out we were eavesdropping. Either way, keep your guard up."

The two of you fly around aimlessly. Though you still need to be careful. Frieza is somewhere on this god-forsaken planet, and a run-in with him and his lackeys at the moment would be unfavorable. Out of the corner of your eye, you spot something that catches your attention. " I spy with my little eye an unsightly pink blob."

You direct Vegeta's attention to Dodoria, who has his classic disoriented look on his face. "Good eye." He smirks at you before ambushing Dodoria, knocking him into the water. You appear beside your brother on the shoreline, observing the water intently. 

Two pink hands grasp onto the terrain as he pulls his head up, gasping for air. You both laugh maniacally at the pink creature's stupidity. You swear, after every encounter you have with Dodoria, he somehow gets dumber. "Oh, it's you two." He sounds far from pleased as he pulls himself out of the lake. "What the hell do you want?"

"Mind your manners, Dodoria." You scold him. "No need to be crude."

He scowls at you. "Arrogant Saiyans." He mutters under his breath. "That was a dirty trick Vegeta. Although I wouldn't expect anything less from you monkeys." Dodoria straightens his posture in an attempt to appear more intimidating. Spoiler alert, it doesn't work. "You know I can't just let you get away with blindsiding me." 

Vegeta chuckles, rolling his eyes at the monster. "Oh, really now? Just what do you plan on doing? You're all alone. There's no Zarbon or Frieza for you to cower behind. How unfortunate for you."

"I doubt we'll even have to lift a finger." You shrug. "This should be a piece of cake."

Dodoria chuckles, shifting his gaze between you and Vegeta. "You two really think you can take me? You're both as egotistical as that father of yours, and you know how that ended for him. You Saiyan freaks will never be half the warrior that I am." You clench your fists, your nails digging into your palm. How dare he even mention your father. "Listen, I know neither of you desires to fight me. And I don't particularly want to fight you either. So how about you just give me that scouter, and we can forget this ever happened. That's more than a fair deal. I think I'm actually being quite generous." His tone may be confident, but his body language gives him away. Who knew the pink menace was actually afraid of something. 

"So your presumption was right." Vegeta turns to you. "Those Namekians must have destroyed their scouters. This puts us in an intriguing situation, doesn't it Y/N?" Vegeta removes his scouter, tossing it on the ground. "What are you waiting for, Dodoria? Take it."

He eyes you both skeptically, but he still takes the bait. Critical thinking has never been Dodoria's strong suit. "About time you brats showed me the respect I deserve." As he steps closer, Vegeta stomps on the scouter. The wretched thing, smashing into thousands of worthless pieces.

The pink monstrosity sneers. "No worries. I'll just take the girl's scouter." He speeds toward you, extending a hand in an attempt to rip the device off your face. Before he can even touch you, you grasp his arm, bending it behind his back.

"Why do they always think it's appropriate to get handsy with me?" A breathy sigh escapes your lips. "They'll never learn." You remove your scouter, holding it in the palm of your unoccupied hand. "Since you want it so bad." You snap your scouter in half, discarding the parts to the ground. "You ever think about laying your filthy hands on me again, you'll lose them." You toss the fool several feet away. The farther away he is, the better. 

"Why would you--- it doesn't even matter." He stands back up, dusting himself off. "Now, you won't be able to find the Dragon Balls either."

You shake your head at him, a pleased look crossing your features. "Not exactly. You see, Earth was quite the adventure. We picked up a few new tricks. One that leaves those hunks of metal useless."

Dedoria furrows his brows at you, his entire face contorting. "You're lying."

"I'm afraid she isn't. This energy-sensing technique is quite simple. I doubt any of the members of the elite Frieza Force would be interested, though. It doesn't require much strength, and everyone knows you don't care for anything that doesn't involve flexing your muscles." Dodoria is more fat than muscle. It's an irrelevant technicality, one that would only piss off the blob more. 

"I get it now." He seems to come to some sort of a realization. Only you have no idea what the hell he's referring to. "Those two runts I was chasing were earthlings." You stare at him in disbelief. Is it possible for them to be here? Raditz, he's the only possible explanation. But would he really be dumb enough to lead those weaklings to their deaths?

"W-What did you say?" Vegeta's mouth hangs agape.

"So I'm right. The looks on your faces tell me all I need to know. You're working together."

You combust into a fit of laughter, wiping tears from your eyes. This has to be the funniest thing you've heard all week. "Even if those pests were here. Never in a million years would we align ourselves with those soft-hearted fools."

"You must be mistaken. Even if those earthlings were here, we'd be able to sense them." Now that you think about it. Have you been able to sense them? You haven't been looking, but you have felt some strange energy. You just assumed it was some half-wit from the Frieza Force, but now you're not so sure.

 "It doesn't really matter anyway." He rolls his eyes. "You two are no longer any use to me. So either get lost, or I'll have to finish you off myself."

"Why, how generous of you." The sarcasm practically drips from your voice. "I think he's afraid Vegeta."

"Well, can you blame him? His scouter probably told him everything he needed to know. He must have seen my battle with Cui." For every step Vegeta takes forward, Dodoria takes another backward. "He must have seen how much stronger I've become."

"That isn't possible." He scoffs. "Those numbers were inaccurate, and I'll prove it!" He shoots an uncontrollable blast of fire at you both, which you simply dodge by stepping out of the line of fire.

"Was that really the best you could do?" You mock. It was sloppy even for an attack from Dodoria.

He turns around, only to be met with the two of you behind him, floating in the air. Vegeta swiftly moves behind him, grabbing both of his arms, twisting them behind his back. You swear you even heard them snap. "Look how weak you are." Vegeta sneers. "I'm stronger than I've ever been. While you've been sitting on your ass all-day, becoming soft and lazy. I should just end your pitiful life here."

"Wait, Vegeta!" He cries. "I have something to tell you! Something you'll really want to know! It's about your homeworld. I know the truth about Planet Vegeta!" Does that pink blob actually believe he has a form of leverage? What a fool.

"What could you possibly know about Planet Vegeta? You better start talking!" You furrow your brows at your brother. He's behaving strangely. And why is he humoring Dodoria in the first place? Vegeta has to already know about what they did to your homeworld.

"I will, but first, you have to let me go." Vegeta releases Dodoria from his death grip, pushing him away.

"Now, spit it out!" You observe the pair from a safe distance. Vegeta's response is bizarre, and his body language seems to have no ulterior motives. Is it possible that Vegeta doesn't know? You grab your forehead, running a hand through your hair. If that's the case, Vegeta is going to fucking kill you.

"As you know, Planet Vegeta was destroyed, but it wasn't by a meteor. Lord Frieza had started to notice numerous Saiyan babies being born with extraordinary combat skills. You two were the most notable in power. He realized that you Saiyans could really be a problem. You had the potential of becoming a real bother to Lord Frieza's regime. So he decided to wipe out the only race that could ever impose him before they could even become an issue. He destroyed Planet Vegeta with every last Saiyan on it. Well, except for you two. Did you really think it was a coincidence that you were off-planet? So there it is, you two are finally in on our little joke."

You've always known what happened to your planet. But now you've learned the answer to an even more substantial question, why it occurred. Frieza was afraid. He decided to take the coward's way out. How pathetic. 

You laugh, tilting your head backward. "That was your big ploy? I've known about that for years!" Before he can even react, you teleport behind him, impaling your hand through his chest, watching the purple goop ooze out of him. "How stupid did you think we were?" You twist your hand, tossing his lifeless body to the ground before obliterating anything left of him.

Vegeta stares at you in shock. "You knew?"

You raise a brow at him. "You didn't?" You always assumed that it was one of those things that you both knew but never spoke off. Turns out you were mistaken.

The two of you stand in silence. You have no idea what the protocol is for this. You don't know what you're supposed to say. Vegeta looks away, sighing. "It's irrelevant now. It was probably for the best that I was left in ignorance. Who knows what I would've done as a child. I'm just annoyed that you were able to figure it out before me."

You smile at him. Besting Vegeta is not something that comes easily. So you'll take what you can get. "You know, I don't think he was wrong about the earthlings."

"You think they're here?"

You nod. "You gotta remember. Raditz is with them now."

"Good point. When I get my hands on that pathetic excuse for a Saiyan, he'll regret ever betraying us. Let's go. We can't be out in the open for too long."

He hovers in the air, beginning to take off. "Vegeta." He turns back, meeting your gaze. "You know I would've told you, right?"

"I know---" He cuts himself off, his eyes practically bulging out of his head. "Do you sense that?" You nod, taking off in the direction of the two large power sources. Dodoria had mentioned that they were runts. So one of them has to be the half-breed and possibly the bald fellow. Your eyes scan over the terrain. They have to be around here somewhere. "They must be suppressing their power levels. Only if I still had my damn scouter. I'm not used to this technique just yet."

Bingo. You found them hiding between a few boulders. And your assumptions were right. There's only a slight difference. They seem to be accompanied by a Namkian child. A sadistic grin spreads across your face as their gazes land on you. Just the way you remember them, cowering in fear due to your presence. "You know. It was probably just three insignificant insects." You're not wrong. That's all they are to you. Pesky flies that invade your personal space and make your life slightly more irritating.

"You're right. We don't have time for this anyway. Let's get a move on." You both take off, leaving the earthling issue for another time.

It took you awhile, but you finally located a Namkeian village. Well, actually, you passed several, but this is the only one with a living population. "Looks like we found ourselves a Dragon Ball." Vegeta's lips twist into a sly grin, heading straight into the village. You follow his lead, now standing directly beside him. You've finally gained the attention of the inhabitants, who are now murmuring to each other. Who knew Namekians were such gossips. Their chatter dies down the second Vegeta clears his throat. "I wish to speak to your elder. I believe there is a Dragon Ball here, that we'll be graciously taking off your hands."

"I'm the village elder." An older Namkain steps up. These creatures do not age kindly. "I would ask you what your intentions are, but I can already feel that you are impure. I sense an unspeakable evil in both of you. Neither of you is worthy." What a self-righteous species. They're entirely different from that Namekian you encountered on Earth.

Vegeta shakes his head, chuckling to himself. Only if the Namekians cooperated, Vegeta has never taken the word no very well. "Then you die. Y/N, you do the honors." This could've ended smoothly, with a lot less bloodshed. Too bad for them.

"You got it, Vegeta." You hold up a finger gun, pointing it straight at the elder. "Bang!" A beam of blue light heads straight for the geezer before another Namkian jumps in front of him, absorbing the blast entirely. The body drops to the ground, and all hell breaks loose. 

You begin the slaughter, ending the lives of several Namkeians. Until you freeze, as much as you've been itching for a fight, you're reminded of something far more crucial that you have to fulfill. Damn your morals. They're ruining all your fun. You take one last glance at your brother. These Namekians should keep him occupied for some time. He might not even notice that you ever left. As soon as he turns away from you, you take off, successfully staying off of Vegeta's radar. 

You use your newly acquired energy-sensing technique to track down that Namekian child. Since those earthlings are suppressing their energy, they'll be much more difficult to find. This is assuming he's still with them. Those earthlings aren't like you. Neither of them would be able to stomach, leaving him for dead.

You pinpoint the energy source to a cave. What a strange place for them to reside in. You head into the cavern, only to find some form of futuristic architecture. How the hell did this get here? And what is Capsule Corp? You move toward the door, banging on it. "Knock, knock. Oh, little piglets, let me in! Before I knock the door down. Or worse." You can overhear faint whispering on the other side, mixed with a woman obnoxiously shrieking. "I can hear you panicking. Relax, I have no business with the half-breed, the Namekian child, or any earthlings in there. Now open the damn door."

The door slowly opens, revealing the bald man, whose name you believe to be Krillin. "What do you want, Y/N?"

"I need to speak to Raditz. It's urgent."

"Well, you can't---" Krillin gets pushed to the ground by none other than the infamous Hair Boy himself. This allows you to step inside the building. It must be some sort of luxury living quarters. 

The two of you stand arm's length from each other, matching cold expressions on your faces. "You here to kill me?"

"No." The corners of your lips tug upwards. "Well, at least not yet."

"So why are you here?" His face twists in confusion. "You aren't one to just drop in and say hi."

You take a deep breath, glancing around the room. This would be difficult to say one-on-one, but being surrounded by people makes it ten times worse. "There's something--- I need to tell you."

An arrogant smirk appears on his lips. "What? Did you finally fall for my good looks and charm? Are you finally declaring that you've fallen hopelessly in love with me?"

Your face scrunches up in disgust. "Don't make me ill." That would never happen, even if he was the last male Saiayn in existence, which he pretty much is. "I'm here to tell you the truth about what occurred on Planet Vegeta."

"What are you talking about?" Raditz eyebrows knit together. "A meteor wiped out our people."

You sigh, glancing at the ceiling. "Come on, Raditz. You're a lot of things, but you aren't stupid. There was no meteor. Even if there was one, our people could fly."

"What are you trying to say?" he squeezes his eyes shut, trying to shield himself from the inevitable blow.

"Our people were exterminated by that imperialistic dictator." Your voice booms. You're not even attempting to conceal your anger.

Raditz clenches his fists, his hands violently shaking. All he can think about is his mother, how she deserved better. The majority of your people deserved what they got, but not Gine. She was different. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Raditz always knew there was no meteor. The story was too perfect, and it was easier to believe that it was a tragedy. "Why?" That was all he could manage to choke out. Did Raditz really want to know? Would he be able to handle the truth? 

The others in the room remain silent, observing you anxiously. You're even more terrifying than they believed. You're not joking around or aloof this time. You're only expressing one thing, pure rage. So you do care about something. Whether you desire vengeance or truly cared for your people is unclear to the earthlings.

"Frieza was terrified. Our people were getting too strong for his liking. The Saiyan population was skyrocketing due to technological advancements. He was scared of what we could accomplish, terrified of the possibility that he could be out-ranked."

A Cheshire grin appears on Raditz's face. "We'll prove to him that he was right to fear us, right?"

"You bet your ass we will. We'll make Frieza regret leaving us alive." You take a deep breath, finally attempting to get your emotions in check, returning to your cold demeanor. "I just thought you should know. Before I killed him, Dodoria let the cat out of the bag to Vegeta."

"You killed that pink asshole? It was about time. How'd it feel?" The other stare at you two in bewilderment. Two seconds ago, you were swearing revenge, and now you're as casual as can be.

"It was extremely satisfying sending that pink blob straight to hell." You purse your lips together, cracking your neck. I should get back before Vegeta blows a fuse." You move to the doorway, stopping dead in your tracks. "Oh, ya one, last thing. Frieza's here."

"We know his men are here. We've already had the pleasure of encountering the Frieza Force."

"Raditz, I'm afraid you don't understand. It's not just his minions. He's here on Namek." Raditz chokes on air, his eyes popping out. You slam the door shut, hearing Raditz's reaction through the walls. The phrases we're so fucked, and we're all gonna die were your favorites of his elaborate babbling. You take off, heading back in the direction you came from.

As you near the location of the village, you quickly realize there is no point in returning. You can't sense any life, and that includes Vegeta. So this means he knows you ran off. You were due for one of his famous lectures anyway. Hopefully, he's not wasting his time searching for you. That would only make your predicament worse. 

You search in every direction, finally detecting your brother's energy to the west. Vegeta's power level is diminishing at an alarming rate. Maybe he's run into Zarbon or worse, Frieza. You take off at light speed, heading straight for the battleground.

Once you arrive, you conceal yourself behind a hill, observing the battle intently. It appears that Vegeta is fighting Zarbon, but something is off about the narcissist. His chest seems broader than it usually is. 

Zarbon turns around, your eyes widening at the ghastly sight. What the fuck happened to his face? He has to be the most hideous creature you've ever laid your eyes on, and there's a lot of competition for that category. This must be an alternate form of his, similar to your Great Ape form. It doesn't surprise you that you've never seen his transformation before. Even though it considerably increases his strength, his vanity has no limit. 

The green-haired egomaniac slams your brother into the ground, creating a blazing explosion. He stares down into the water-filled crater, and Vegeta is nowhere to be found. Your brother has gotten especially good at playing dead as of recent.

Zarbon reverts back into his base form, flying off into the distance. You wait an appropriate amount of time before heading toward the teal mass of water. You scan the lake, searching for your brother. He surfaces back up seconds later, desperately gasping for air. You extend a hand to Vegeta, pulling him onto land. 

He takes a few moments to collect himself before glaring daggers at you. "Where the--- hell did you run off to?" Despite being winded, he manages to find the breath to shout at you.

"I sensed some members of the Frieza Force. Thought I'd say hello." Believable lies are your specialty at this point.

"You can't---" He stops himself, his features softening at your expression. "Just never do that again. No more running off, especially without telling me. I'm serious this time. With Freiza here, I don't want you leaving my side again."

You can feel a familiar power level rapidly approaching, Zarbon's returning. "Change of plans. Go retrieve the Dragon Ball from that Namkian village. I tossed it in the water. I'll take care of the five that Frieza has."

"But, Vegeta." You giggle. "I'm not supposed to leave your side."

He glares at you. "Of course, now you decide to start listening to me. There is no reason for both of us to get captured. Now go!" You move to camouflage yourself again. Zarbon must need Vegeta for something. They most likely found the decimated village and want to question him about the location of the orb.

You watch Zarbon pick up your brother, who's pretending to be unconscious, and he flys away. You wait till you can no longer see Zarbon before speeding off to the Namekian village. Your plan is to retrieve the sphere and then take shelter somewhere. That is until you can sense Vegeta again.

You land in the ruins that were once the Namekian village. Damn Vegeta, did a lot of damage here. Your head snaps to the water. You swear you heard a splashing noise, and it couldn't have been a sea creature. If it was, the sound would've been louder. So what is it? Could it be one of Freiza's goons? If it is, they're probably weak. You'd be able to take them out with ease.

The creature emerges from the water with the four-star ball in his hands. He's a tiny little thing, way too small to be anyone currently in the Frieza Force. Something about the runt seems vaguely familiar. Wait a minute, that's Kakarot's brat. His hair's just shorter than it used to be. Half breeds must be able to change the length and style of their hair, fascinating. 

You sneak behind him with a blank look on your face. "What do you think you're doing, brat?"

Gohan jumps, turning around. "Y/N?" He shrieks, dropping the orb, which you swiftly catch one-handed. He looks around, anxiously searching for something or possibly someone. "Where's Vegeta?" His voice trembles just at saying your brother's name alone. Vegeta must have left quite the impression.

"Vegeta got himself---" You can feel Zarbon's impending presence once again, and the look on the brat's face tells you he can sense it too. This energy-sensing technique is becoming quite tedious, but you suppose it's better than being blindsided. What could Zarbon possibly want now? He already took Vegeta. Maybe he came to search for the Dragon Ball himself? Shit, you can't stay out in the open like this. You grab Gohan in one arm. And the four-starred ball in the other, rushing into a nearby cave. As an extra precaution, you seal the entrance with a boulder. Zarbon may be vain, but he's also significantly brighter than Dodoria was. Though that isn't very hard to do. 

You put a finger up to your lips, signaling for Gohan to keep quiet. The foot-steps outside grow louder. He must be standing right outside the cave by now. "Where are you, Vegeta?" He sounds deranged. So Vegeta did escape. Your best guess for Zarbon's erratic behavior is that Vegeta's prison break put Zarbon in hot water with Frieza. "Lord Frieza is going to have my head if I don't retrieve those Dragon Balls." Your insane brother actually did it. He stole the Dragon Balls from right under Frieza's nose. You're father's probably smiling up from hell as we speak.

You slide against the cave wall, dropping to the ground, leaning your head against the rock. You both might be here for a while. Zarbon is quite thorough with his searches. If he were to find you, it would put you in a tricky situation, especially with a Dragon Ball in your possession.

Gohan walks over to you, sitting down across from you. "Who is that?" Even though he's whispering, he's still being too loud for your liking."

"It's Zarbon. Now be quiet." You cover the orange ball in dirt and moss. If Zarbon does find you, the orb will be hidden in plain sight. Once finished with your little project, you shut your eyes. It's almost like you're alone. And not trapped in an enclosed space with your opposition's son.

"Y/N?" Your eyes snap open, immediately narrowing at the boy. You were about to reprimand him, but that was until you noticed the item in his hands. Your features soften as he extends the necklace to you.

You accept the necklace, grasping it tightly in your hands. "Thanks." A slight smile ghosts your lips before quickly vanishing.

"I was just returning what was yours." He looks at you, nervously twiddling his thumbs. "Hey Y/N? Where did you get that necklace from?" You hold up the jewelry, swinging the chain back and forth, getting lost in the memory.

Twenty-something years ago:

You're sitting down on your bed, with a book placed in your hands. Your gaze scans carefully over each word, occasionally flicking your wrist to flip the page. This is the newest piece of literature in your vast collection. You've only had this book for a few weeks. Vegeta gave it to you when he and Nappa returned from a mission off-planet. The book is all about these things called wish orbs. If you gather all seven, you can be granted all sorts of magical wishes. Vegeta says they're nothing more than a fairytale. That it's childish to believe in such an absurd concept, but you're convinced they exist. You've definitely seen stranger things occur, so it's in the realm of possibility for orbs to grant wishes. 

You hadn't even noticed that your father had entered your room. Until he was standing directly in front of you. Panic overtakes your body, your heart beating out of your chest. You slide the book under your comforter, even though it was much too late to hide the evidence. Your reaction may seem a bit extreme, but it's for a good reason. Books aren't necessarily illegal on Planet Vegeta, but they are forbidden. Your father believes that literacy is a waste of time. He considers combat training to be more essential to the prosperity of the Saiyan race.

"Relax." His gruff voice invades your ears. "I already know about the various books you hide around the palace." The king is a very observant man, making it extremely challenging to keep things from him. His general policy regarding situations like this is, he won't say anything unless someone brings it to his attention. Then he would be forced to move his hand, having to find a proper form of punishment.

"Is---Is there something you need?" It's not like him to drop by unannounced. Your father is a very busy man, sometimes you won't even see him for months at a time.

"As you know, you're going on a crucial mission tomorrow. Are you going to behave for your brother?" You nod in agreement. "You are also not to leave his side, do you understand me?" Ever since the incident, you're not allowed off-planet without either your father or Vegeta. One of them has to watch you like a hawk at all times because of one stupid mistake. That will probably be held over your head for the rest of your mortal life.

"Yes, sir." You decide to give him verbal confirmation as well. This way, you can avoid any potential lectures.

"Now, let's get down to business. While I was out on my last excursion. I found this piece of junk with my things. I thought I'd check if you wanted it before I destroyed it." He holds up the necklace. The pendant immediately catches your eye. It's one of the pictures from your book, the four-star wish orb. 

You nod, accepting the gift. You wrap the chain around your wrist, toying with the trinket. You've gotten pretty good at reading between the lines when it comes to your father. Saiyans aren't meant to express their emotions. You're raised to suppress them. Your father picks up on little things, like the fact that you're currently obsessed with wish orbs. You and Vegeta had to have gotten your conflicting behaviors from somewhere. And that somewhere was your father. The King of all Saiyans, the most ruthless of them all, deeply cared for his children.

He places his hands on your shoulders, causing you to look up at him. His eyes flicker with vulnerability as you stare at him. "Listen to me. Vegeta needs you just as much as you need him. You are capable of things that he isn't. And you are much stronger than you give yourself credit for. You are my sole daughter, the pinnacle of Saiyan pride. Never forget where you came from."

"A-Are you alright? You're acting weird."

"I'm fine, Y/N. Now get to sleep. You have to be up early." He leans down, kissing the top of your head before exiting the room. This only elevates your confusion. Your father has never done that before. Physical affection is not something Saiyan's participate in. At least they aren't supposed to. 

Little did you know, this would be the last time you ever saw your father alive. Looking back on it, as an adult, his strange behavior makes sense. This was his way of saying goodbye. He must have had some inkling about Frieza's plans for your race.

You snap back into reality, shifting your gaze to Gohan. Typically when you spaced out, it would irritate your companions. Maybe it would even earn you a scolding from Vegeta. But the kid has just been sitting there, keenly anticipating your response.

"My father gave it to me." Your tone softens. Nostalgia sometimes does that to you. Gohan is the first person you've ever told the origin of your necklace. It wasn't necessarily a secret. You've just never felt the need to talk about it.

Some Final Notes:

"Wasn't he the king, though? Couldn't he have given you a diamond or gold necklace? Or something fit for royalty?"

"He could have. It was more about the sentiment behind the necklace." And with that, the silence returns. Being in this cave really reminds you of your pod. Scratch that it's worse. The brat is just too nice to the point where it's nauseating. For the half-breed's sake, you hope that Zarbon leaves soon. Because you're not sure how much more of this you'll be able to take.

-

Some Final Notes:

I know some of you might think King Vegeta was a bit out of character. However, I believe King Vegeta did care for his children to an extent. I know there’s some confusion in the fanbase about Tarble, whether he’s canon or not. But since the script for Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!! was a concept created by Akira Toriyama. I personally believe Tarble is cannon. So King Vegeta banishing his son, rather than executing him, does show he had empathy for Tarble, even though he was viewed as a disgrace on his entire bloodline.

[jrueships]

I’m aware that this was not the point of the kawhi and pg retiring together post but pg calling kawhi honey!!!!! Omg!!! I’m in love with nicknames so this was so cute 😭. And Luka having them for Dennis in the redacted post !! CUTE “honey” 🥲 “kitten” 😳 “SWEETHEART”!!!! Ahsjsksj- *explodes* anyway do any of your other ships have nicknames for each other 🤔

GOOOOD bruh this is SUCH a good ask literally like. im SO sorry it took me so long to finally answer it but I've been looking at this and trying to figure out how to do it justice FOREEEVER it was just That good 2 me. IM SO GLAD U THOUGHT THAT WAS CUTE!!! I LOVE ships where the couples give each other nicknames I DUNNO they hit DIFFERENT!! The way yall be reading my tags 😭 !! IS NICE 🤩🤩‼‼ BUT YEA!!!! LETS GET RIGHT 2 IT!!!

Marcus Smart+Giannis: OKAY so I think that they BOTH kinda like??? Secretly Pride themselves on being GREAT at nicknames lol. Giannis's "khash money and big money" (Khris STILL calls jrue big money its so funny. The bucks love giannis so much and honestly?? Who doesnt??? ((Harden))) I think giannis uses nicknames more tho?? Because marcus wants to be cool and not look so sappy for giannis but sometimes it slips �� ANYWAYS THOOO i think giannis calls marcus like "SMARTIES!!!!" or "MY SWEET!!!" or something endearing old grandparents call each other And like. They run to each other and giannis sweeps him up in his long arms and they spin around laughing all cheesy like that!!! Or sometimes giannis will call him, the very loving, "mahkus shart" or "fart" and then try excusing it on having a relapse on the English language even tho they both know Damn well he's just being a little shit. But when giannis and Markus are cuddling in bed together during the sleepy hours of trying to drift into dreamland, giannis probably calls marcus like.. "stars", or somethin. Kisses his freckles and his acne scars. Marcus probably calls Giannis "gianny!!" On the downlow or "hey, deer" or "beanpole" LMAO. Sometimes "prancer" or "big man" But for the public he does his 'GRANT.' tone but with "GIANNIS." instead to get his attention

Trae + John collins: I think they stick to their usual stupid nicknames like. Trae is IceTrae and john is The Baptist. Trae probably makes jokes about wanting John to wash his feet when they're high together. Trae calls John his "girlfriend" his "wifey" his "bae" you know whatever typical fuckboys use to make their tiktok gfs feel special! John is probably like "dude, im a guy." but can't help but feel his heart beating at the nicknames anyways because he is WEEK and STOOPID!!!! BUT OF COURSE they use the typical bros and dudes and mans!! John probably has to call trae "big man" or "chief" LMFAO. Trae literally does Not have this kinda energy but despite that... he probably really Really wants to be called d*ddy IM SORRY IM JUST TELLIN THE FACTS OKAY. ANYWAYS

Draymond+Swaggy P: swaggy p will sometimes not acknowledge dray if he does not call him swaggy p*nis at least Once a month. Nick could be hanging off a cliff on the verge of falling and Draymond would extend his hand out saying "NICK!! GRAB MY HAND!!!" And nick would just cross his arms and be like "refer to me with my Full Name, Draymond." and then plummet to the void. Draymond does Not call swaggy p swaggy p*nis tho, and will be actually really glad that he gets a moment of silence from Nick's deranged fuckboyness. Nick never wins the silent games with dray. He probably ends up trying to tug on his hoodie or vandalize dray's things to try and get his attention again. ANYWAYS nick tries to get away with calling dray anything really cheesy that he THINKS is hot. Like "hello my gorgeous hobgoblin" or "hey butterfly bae 🥰🥰" and dray tells him to shut up but he secretly enjoys them LMAO. Dray probably just calls nick "swaggy" or "nick". Bitch in the bedroomlolANYWAYS

Pat bev+Lou will: yes, I snuck them in here SHUDDUP my game MY rules!!! I think pat would be like... committing a crime .. kicking a fire hydrant and turning over cars or whatever, but then he'll hear lou call him "Patti !" and he'll suddenly stop and snuggle into his lap or somethin LMAO. Idk... I love.. the grandpas 🥰🥰 crazy man who has soft spot for destruction, crime, and lou will

Jeff teague+LeBron: LISTENLISTENLUS- OKAY. LISTEN. I love their relationship in like a FUNNY sense like.... bron really sweeped teague SO many times it's FUNNY. I like to think about them as the like... D-classed villain, who can only rob small children, declaring the strongest hero Ever as his arch nemesis... and the superhero not seeing them as a threat at ALL. LIKE WHEN TEAGUE SHOVED BRON ONCE and bron just got back up without a care LMAO. I think Teague stays up all night dreaming about one day finally like BEATING beating LeBron.. and when they meet on court he's like "your castle will be MINE as will be your CROWN and your CAVS, 'kiNg bRoN' " and LeBron just laughs, pats him on the back, and says, "okay Jeff lol" and then blows his team out by 50 points . AnNYWAYS yea i think teague comes up with a Lot of not pg13 nicknames for bron and bron just calls him Jeff

Robin +Kris Dunn: kris probably calls Robin "old man" and "twiggy" and "birdnest brain" and a thousand other teasing words, and he smirks up at him expecting a reaction, but Robin just laughs and calls him "peanut" and kris goes home and claws off the wallpaper to his bathroom walls

Myles+ Victor oladipo: myles is a nerd so he loves when vic calls him "myles Morales" because IT'S CLEVER. and hes a geek. Victor gets called Viccy or just Oladipo ! Sometimes thingamajig !!!

Keldon+Anthony Edwards: I JUST THINK THEIR PERSONALITIES WOULD BE GOOD TOGETJER anyways I think keldon would call him "eddy!!!" While Ant prefers to call keldon like "my shawty boo Thang 🥰🥰" LMAO

Russ and kd are the classic "only call each other by the last names until something serious comes up". like maybe they pass each other in the hall. Russ with his classic head down and beady eyes to the floor stance. They don't look at each other as they exchange a cold "Westbrook." "DURANT . " but then when conversations get heated or they start talking things over... Durant finally calls Russell "Russ.." and westbrook calls him "kd." Again .....

Fultz/Fox: they go by fultz and fox!!! Sometimes "Feds" and "Fox"!! I think because Fox is a weeb he calls Markelle the "vegeta" to his goku. The sasuke to his naruto etcetc!! While fultz smiles and thinks about gay astrology/ poetic analogies like " de'aaron.. the sun to my moon. The flame to my hearth. The key to my heart". and feigns petting Fox's past goku hair LMAO

demar/kyle: deebo calls Kyle Fat Ass. it's very romantic

[saintheartwing]

Lily’s Post about Mary Sues

Let’s analyze this. 

None of those series you mentioned have characters that could be labelled as Mary Sues

Clark Kent, Goku, Luke, Anakin, Kirk.

Okay, a Mary Sue or Gary Stu has to be, basically, either an author avatar or stand-in, they tend to be beautiful or really handsome, have unusual, or dramatic backtories, are “chosen one” types, all of the main characters in the group will love them or admire them and those that don’t are always portrayed as in the wrong for not doing so, this kind of thing. They tend to be overpowered as well and they possess unique, special powers. They’ve basically overpowered, over-idealized, beloved by anybody and if you DON’T like them, you’re clearly in the wrong. Oh, and everything they do is treated as good, and if they DO screw up, hey, it’s no big deal. Any actual flaws are negligible or nonexistent. Like being “Naive” or wearing their heart on their sleeve. 

Let’s take a look at...Superman. Well, he’s got several big weaknesses. Kryptonite, for one. And Magic. HUGELY weak against magic. He IS overpowered and he is mostly beloved by everyone...but he has made a LOT of mistakes. Especially when it comes to Batman. Whenever Batman is involved in a story with him, it’s Batman who’s right, and Superman who’s in the wrong. Pretty much all the time. “Darkseid is dead, Superman.” “You know what Bruce? You’re not always right!” But Batman WAS right, at least technically. Batman regularly beats Superman in several stories. So Clark isn’t always treated as right. On top of that, he does have some real character flaws of constantly being torn between wanting to do more and being afraid of how far he should go. And when you have GODLY strength, that’s a huge exploit, especially for supervillains. But...he does fill a lot of the Mary Sue tropes, so we’ll give Lily some credit. 

Goku? Well Goku is a moron. The story always treats his stupidity as being a huge problem. One that CONTINUES to cause issues, and has even nearly gotten his world destroyed a few times. He’s even gotten himself and his friends KILLED cuz he couldn’t think of any other way but to sacrifice himself or the like. AND he has serious anger issues. When he’s furious, he’s almost uncontrollable. The only person more so is Vegeta. He’s also a pig who eats too much but we can sorta overlook that last one because being a glutton is played more for laughs and “He needs it to keep up his strength”.  How about his powers? Well he’s DEFINITELY overpowered. Is he handsome? Well, he looks pretty good. And he’s well-liked by pretty much the whole main cast except for, of course, the villains. So we could say...yeah. Goku’s kinda Mary Sue-ish. 

Luke? Well...not really. Luke isn’t naturally gifted or talented like Goku or Superman were. Despite having the POTENTIAL to be great, his Jedi skills started out so poor he couldn’t even block blaster bolts using the force alone. He had to train for weeks if not months under Yoda just to get somewhat up to snuff and he STILL failed. “Don’t go into that cave with your weapons”. He goes in. Sees Darth Vader and...oh, wait, it’s HIMSELF he’s killed! You were put to the test and you failed. He can’t lift large objects with the Force. He’s reckless, he doesn’t think things through and he often has to rely on help from OTHERS to succeed. He only got that one-in-a-million shot on the Death Star because Obi Wan’s ghost spoke to him in his head to help guide him. He only got away from the first Death Star because Obi Wan sacrificed himself. Throughout the first two films, he’s just not good enough. He loses to Darth Vader MISERABLY, and he even loses his HAND. A real Mary Sue would have won, or at least held Darth Vader off, or tied. Worse still, he’s not just dangerously reckless and kind of whiny...he’s got a serious anger problem that rises up in the films, he almost outright gives in to the dark side. But other than that, he’s just some country bumpkin who happened to luck out at finding the right droid. All his powers, he basically earned, showing a classic heroes’s journey growth. So that, combined with the huge failures in the first few movies and even if we factor in the sequels and the stupid, dumb decisions he made...he’s not a Mary Sue. A Mary Sue wouldn’t f--k up that much. Or if they did, it wouldn’t be treated as his own fault, or as a bad thing. It’d be brushed off.

Anakin! OHHH boy. This guy is a whiny little brat. I don’t know if people realize this, but...Lily, NOBODY LIKED ANAKIN. Anakin was unlikable BECAUSE he was a Mary Sue. You DO realize this, right? He was overpowered, treated as the chosen one, and he was super whiny at that. But you know what? At least the story treated him doing awful stuff as the wrong thing. Him being reckless? A bad thing. He should listen to Obi Wan more. Him casually killing someone through the back in the Clone Wars? A bad thing, he could have just knocked the guy out or cut his arm or hand off, what he did was murder. Anakin murdering the entire tribe of Sand People that kidnapped his mom, leading to her death? Shown as a VERY bad thing because he slaughtered ALL of them, even women and children. Anakin becoming Sith and killing kids? SUPER bad thing. 

So at the very least, him doing morally reprehensible things is treated as genuinely bad. At least the story calls him out on this. 

Kirk? Uh, Kirk is just a random human. He’s not exactly super strong or super intelligent. He’s clever and he’s fairly skilled in combat, and he’s definitely good looking, but he’s no ‘chosen one’ like so many of the others. Has he got flaws? Yeah, he’s got a temper. And he  flagrantly disregards the rules. And he DEFINITELY is something of a skirt chaser. But he’s not exactly overpowered enough to be considered a Mary Sue. He hasn’t GOT enough powers at all to be counted as one. Plus, when you consider how he died? A real Mary Sue would get a far better and more dramatic death, if they died at all. So Kirk? Ahhh, not really. He’s not a Mary Sue. He’s just not powerful enough to be one and he’s no chosen one. 

But your characters? Well, let’s see. Rey is a chosen one. So is Aliana. And Aliana is descended from a LONG LINE of superpowerful Sith. She’s basically “old money”. It runs in the blood. Pretty Mary Sue right there. They’re overpowered? Yep. Very. They easily beat the crap out of Kylo Ren. Do all the main characters like them? Yeah. And any that don’t are always treated as wrong, like Leia, or enemies, like Kylo Ren. They fit the definitions to a T.

can never be wrong

“So are a lot of characters in popular culture”

Except that’s not true. Superman, as I’ve shown, has been wrong quite a lot, especially when arguing against Batman, or Wonder Woman. Superman having to kill three Kryptonians who had did a literal genocide of an alternate Earth was portrayed as VERY wrong and it haunted him for years and years. Anakin was VERY, VERY wrong. The minute you do mass murder, you kinda instantly become wrong. Kirk ends up being very wrong in the final film he’s in. He doesn’t want to leave his heavenly alternate reality, it’s PICARD who has to convince him to stop being selfish. Goku is stupidly wrong when dealing with Cell, he really screws up and it gets his mentor and a few of his friends killed because he couldn’t think of a better way to get rid of the about-to-explode Cell than to teleport him to King Kai’s moon. He could have just teleported him, say, the serpent bridge, THEN teleported back if he really thought the explosion was gonna be so big it’d take out the entire world but...nope! Then there’s how he handled Majin Buu. He THINKS he doesn’t have to use fusion with his son. After all, Majin Buu has just lost a ton of power! He and his son can beat him normally...then Majin Buu catches him off guard and claims his son. Nice going, Goku, he was weak and instead of doing what everyone told you to do, you whiffed because you assumed you could handle it. And then there was his whole “Okay Vegeta, you finish off Frieza while he’s all Golden”. Big mistake. Frieza does a self-destructive attack that BLOWS UP THE ENTIRE WORLD and Whis has to literally TURN. BACK. TIME to fix this. Thanks, Goku. You COULDA just finished Frieza off like you did last time, but noooo! You had to indulge your friend’s ego. Luke? Luke’s been wrong a ton of times. Even if we ignore the sequels and the stupid way he handled Kylo Ren and hiding off on some podunk island, he ignored Yoda’s advice multiple times, he took off to fight Darth Vader, and he lost miserably. 

Basically, every time these people do something wrong...it is, for the most part, TREATED as the wrong move by the story. That’s NOT the case for Aliana or Rey. Casually killing a guard for harassing a refugee? Cold blooded murder? Not portrayed as wrong. Overkill of guards at Canto Bight? Not even REMOTELY called out, nor the whole “mass forced suicide” thing. Killing Rey’s parents in cold blood when they were unarmed? Barely glanced over. What’s portrayed as wrong was keeping that a secret, not the MURDER thing. SHOOTING LEIA WITH ELECTRICITY? Not even REMOTELY treated as going too far. 

are always victims

“Can’t imagine why a woman who suffers from PTSD writes characters who have suffered trauma in their lives. It’s a fucking mystery.”

You realize though this makes Aliana an author-avatar/stand in though, and that enforces the whole “she’s a Mary Sue” thing, right? 

and bend the narrative to suit their needs

“If they were villains you wouldn’t complain about it this insessantly.”

But they’re NOT villains. When a story has a hero doing this, even when it has a villain doing this, that’s bad writing. Having Leia reasonably point out the fact that the Republic has every good reason to not trust a Sith and Aliana can’t just bully them into going along with everything she wants...and then having Aliana just SPONTANEOUSLY summon her own WAR FLEET to go “Sword of Damocles” on Leia and the Republic? That’s bad writing. It comes out of nowhere, no build up, and exists ONLY to tell Leia and anybody who has a problem with how Aliana’s doing things to SHUT UP I’M IN CHARGE. It’s bullying, bad writing.

Also, those other characters mentioned have other characters who will call out people like Luke or Kirk if they mess up. And Luke and Kirk or Goku will go “Yeah, you’re right, I should listen to you” and they have to change...or at least say they’ll try to. Does anybody in your story do that? Well...no. Because ANY objection to how Rey or Aliana does things is treated as BAD and WRONG because they’re the main characters, and thus everything they do is right, even if it’s morally repulsive and if ANOTHER character shot lightning at a middle-aged woman for a nasty comment, they’d be the bad guy.

Anyway, said my piece. Lily really has absolutely no self-reflection on this. She can’t handle actual criticism. All this is is DEFLECTION and PIVOTING away from your own story’s problems.  It’s very easy to crow about how popular your work is when you dismiss and delete all actual critique and criticism. 

[darklymelanatedstories]

Dragonball High (ft Goku)

Its the first day at a new high school. I wasn't really nervous, I loved meeting new people plus my friends Bulma and Krillin were there. We've been friends my whole life. I put on my uniform, the classic white shirt, black pants and red tie. I gotta say I don't like formal wear so I put my jacket over it since I didn't have a blazer.

"Goku, hurry up its time to go!"

Master Roshi is calling. I better hurry, can't wait to see the strongest kids there and take them on.

I grabbed my stuff and ran out my room. I grabbed my giant lunch from the kitchen before saying bye to Roshi and flying off Capsule High. The first high school that let aliens and anyone else that wasn't human learn on Earth.

I landed outside the school gate. Half monsters, animal people, aliens and humans all together. It was a beautiful site. If only the rest of world was this accepting.

Next to me pulled up a nice, blue Capsule Corp brand car. Immediately I knew. She stepped out of the car dressed in her white shirt, blue skirt, wearing a signature brown glove, red Capsule Corp jersey and pink sneakers.

Looks like i wasn't the only one changing up the uniform.

"Hey Goku."she said. "Its been so long. How you been?"

"I'm good Bulma. So you finally got that drivers licence huh?"I asked, practically stating the obvious.

"Yep and my dad and I made this beauty. Now its perfect by my standards and full of surprises."she said confidently. "So you ready for your first day?"

"Yeah and I can't wait to join the martial arts team I've been hearing about and fight the strongest fighters here."I said, hitting my fist in my palm in excitement.

"Typical Goku."she sighed. Though Bulma does know how I get. "Though there is this guy who just transferred here a few weeks ago and he's a Saiyan too."

"Really? Another Saiyan!?"I exclaimed. Great. He must be strong.

"Yeah but he's a real meanie though."she sighed. "Anyway let me show you around." She led me inside and showed me around the school. Man was it huge. But anything sponsored by Capsule Corp should be.

The tour ended at my locker which was across from hers. She said I'd probably lose the key or forget the combination so she made me a fingerprint scanner on my locker. She knew me so well.

"Hey Goku!!"I turned away from Bulma to see my old buddy, Krillin, running towards us. He hasn't changed at all besides the fact that he grew hair.

"Yo, Krillin."I said waving to my shorter friend. "So whats new? Are you in the Super MMA team I've heard so much about?"

He expression changed after I said that, like he was angry and disappointed. He looked down in disappointment, his fists clenched.

"What happened buddy?"I asked.

"Well...its just..."

"He didn't make it."Bulma said, cutting him off.

"It wasn't my fault!"he exclaimed. "If it wasn't for Vegeta..." He was so mad, I've never seen Krillin this way. What did this guy do?

"Woah wait, who's this Vegeta?"I asked. They both just stood there in silence for a moment.

"Vegeta is the other Saiyan I was telling you about."Bulma said. "And he's not exactly Mr. Popular more like Mr Thinks-he's-high-and-mighty."she said sarcastically. "He's tormented a lot of people since he got here."

"That bad huh?"

"Yep and he's one of the strongest on the team, he's beaten everyone."she stated.

"Well in that case, how bout I teach him a lesson for bullying?"I asked. "Just lead me to him Bulma."

"Hold up. I can't, Goku, class is about to start and you can't just punch a guy you barely know in the face."Bulma said stopping me in my tracks.

"Wait, are you defending him Bulma?",Krillin asked accusingly. He folded his arms and glared at her. She immediately just laughed it off as a bead of sweat trickled down her forehead. "What....no, how could you even think that. Hehehe."

As if on cue, the bell rang. Karma taking Bulma's side once again. "Oh look the bell, lets head to homeroom Goku.",Bulma said, she grabbed my wrist and practically pulled me to class. I was actually unable to keep up and almost stumbled twice. Boy, was she in a hurry.

We entered our homeroom and immediately people started acting buddy-buddy with Bulma. She's probably the most popular in this school.

The teacher introduced me to the class before I went to sit by Bulma, Krillin and their friends.

I sat on an empty seat next to Krillin by the window. Bulma introduced me to their friends.

Tien, a triclops, I had to try so hard to stop myself from touching his 3rd eye.

Yamcha, Bulma's ex boyfriend, I'm pretty sure she's the one that gave him those scars as a warning to other guys below her standards.

18, she's apperently an android. And I caught Krillin looking at her funny. Whats all that about?

Apparently they're all part of Super MMA team too. But not Krillin, what the heck? He totally deserves to be on the team.

We were all talking for a while till the teacher started calling names. I was too distracted, thinking about the Super MMA team to notice the teacher calling my name three times.

"Goku!"everyone shouted causing me to fall off my chair in surprise.

"Ow.",I whispered. "Oh sorry Mrs...uh whatever your name is. Here." I nervously said.

"Goku, her name is literally engraved on the front of her desk.",Bulma stated. I scratched the back of my head and chuckled. "Sorry I cannot English today."

"Boy you're hopeless."

I sat back down as the teacher called Vegeta's name. I searched the room for him but he wasn't there.

"Vegeta?",the teacher called again.

"Calm down I'm here.",a voice said. I glanced at the door to see a spiky haired dude leaning against it. He was wearing a grey denim jacket over his shirt, no tie and black fingerless gloves. So that's Vegeta.

Everyone just stared in silence, some kid even stopped breathing once he saw Vegeta. Even the teacher looked nervous.

He walked past us and gave Krillin a glare. Poor guy almost fell off his seat. I'm pretty sure that amused Vegeta because he just chuckled then glanced at Bulma. A grin appeared on his face to which Bulma responded with sticking out her tongue. After seeing this he slowly licked his lips, which made Bulma blush and look away. He saw me staring at him and gave me a dirty look then sat in his seat at the back. This guy practically took the whole back row.

I was about to get up and talk to Vegeta when a black haired girl stumbled in. She was wearing the same uniform except with red fingerless fighting gloves and red sneakers.

"Chi Chi you're-"

"Yeah sorry I'm late Mrs...uhm...ms...sorry ma'am.",she stammered. Looks like I'm not the only one who forgot the teachers name. She looked familiar and I feel like I've heard that name before.

She glanced at me. I immediately sat back down, feeling a little weird. She came up to us.

"Hey guys.",she greeted.

"Hey Chi Chi."

She looked back at me. Her eyes hungrily stared at me like I was a piece of steak.

"Hello Goku.",she said softly. "Never thought I'd see you again."

What? How'd she know who I was and where have we met before? Well she looks like a fighter, maybe we met at a tournament. But I just stared in confusion.

"Uh. Do I know you?",I asked nervously. Everyone just fell to the ground. Chi Chi's eyes which were filled with what seemed like adoration changed to pure rage. I could literally see flames.

"Why you!",she started. "Bastard!" Woah, language.

"I can't believe you don't remember me!"she said as she punched me in the chest. It really hurt, I couldn't help but smile. Boy, she was strong, beautiful and fiesty. I just wish I could remember where we met.

"Hey sorry, its not my fault.",I said defensively.

"Yeah Goku fell on the head as a child and ever since then he'd sometimes have the memory of a goldfish.",Krillin said, stepping in between us.

She just huffed and sat on the chair next to Bulma, her arms folded.

The bell rang and we proceeded to head to our classes. Krillin and I had most of the same classes. Though I did see Vegeta a lot but he kept to himself unless he was terrorizing students.

It was lunch time and me and the gang headed to the cafeteria where I met some of their other friends. Puar, Oolong, Chiaotzu.

I left my table to get my food, the cafeteria food smelled delicious. Another perk of having rich people sponsor the school. I filled my plate but the lunch lady stopped me before i could finish everything. She even took five burgers off my tray. Aw man, now I was left with four burgers, two small bowls of noodles, 3 cupcakes, 7 apples and 1 pudding cup. I'm not gonna survive on this.

I sat back down in disappointment and everyone was staring at me.

"I forgot that Goku loved to eat." Krillin laughed. "Well I didn't, thats why I sent Roshi those lunch boxes as a welcoming gift for Goku.",Bulma said.

I immediately remembered the lunch boxes Roshi gave me today.

"Oh my lunch boxes. Almost forgot."I cheerfully said. Now I can snack after MMA tryouts. "Thanks Bulma!"

Suddenly I saw a hand snatch three of my burgers as fast as lightning.

"Thanks for the lunch, you fool."

I looked up to see Vegeta staring at me for a moment. Like he was observing me. Like he knew something about me that I didn't.

"Hey you!",Bulma shouted. "If it won't trouble your inconsiderate, annoying, high-and-mighty ass, we'd like to get back to our lunch."

He glared at her, he was really pissed, guess he wasn't use to someone speaking to him like that. Everyone in the cafeteria was soon staring at our table. Vegeta turned around, his eyes travelled around the room. The whole cafeteria bowed down to avoid his glare.

"Oh and keep the lunch. I know you don't get fed decent food and you're probably tired of eating out of the dumpster you call a home." Oh snap! Everyone lost it. The rich, preppy prodigy dissed the Great Vegeta.

"Why you little-",he started. I stood up in front of him so he wouldn't get any closer to Bulma. I knew she could handle herself but I really just wanted to see this guy fight.

"So I hear you're the king bee of this school, huh?"

"You could say that."

"Well I got a question for ya'.",I said. He grunted in response. "How 'bout we take this outside."

He smiled and followed me outside. Soon half the school was surrounding us.

I got in my fighting stance. "So Bulma tells me you're a Saiyan and that you're really strong.",I said.

"Oh she did, did she?" He glanced over at Bulma for a moment.

"Hey don't get any ideas!!"she shouted at Vegeta. He frowned and turned back to me.

"Lets see what you've got.",he said, getting into position. We both just stood their for a moment till Vegeta came at me with a punch. I blocked it then hit him in the jaw, sending him back.

"Not bad, for a peasant."he said. Wow he really does think he's high and mighty.

We went at each other with everything, well I was. I don't know if he was doing the same.

"Get him Goku!",Yamcha shouted.

"Yeah, punch that smirk off his face!",Bulma added.

Vegeta's foot aimed at my ribs but he got distracted by Bulma's words. That was my chance. I grabbed his leg and swung him around a few times before releasing him into a wall.

"Grrr...Kakarot.",he mumbled.

"What about a carrot?"

With no response he tackled me to the ground and punched me repeatedly, barely giving me a chance to block.

"Goku!" That voice. Chi Chi?

"Goku get up and crush this dweeb. Make him suffer!" Why do I feel like I've heard all that before?

"You dweeb, I'm gonna crush you."she said aftee trying to kick me in the face. I dodged it and tackled her.

"Do you give?",I asked, satisfied with her defeat. I held her arm tight and gropped her waist with her other arm in mine. Preventing any escape.

"Never!",she said. She stomped on my foot, making me release her arm as I winced in pain. "I'm going to make you suffer." She jabbed her elbow in my stomach. I coughed, clutching my stomach and chuckled.

"My you're strong. I've never met someone like you before."I, stated, still in a little pain. She positioned herself in her stance and smiled.

"Thats because there's only one of me."

Chi Chi, I remember now. I snapped out of it after hearing Tien.

"Shouldn't we help him?"

"Yeah, I say lets do it."Yamcha agreed.

"Guys wait Goku will be-"Bulma said. "Yeah, we should help him, Goku's my friend."Krillin said cutting her off.

Vegeta sent a ball of energy towards them before they could reach me. Guess, he didn't want any interruptions. I could hear their screams but knew they'd be fine.

Now's my chance. I punched him in the face and kicked him off me. I started forming my Kamehameha in the palms of my hand. Vegeta immediately followed with his own. We just stood there, balls of energy growing in our hands.

"KAAAAMEEEEEHHHHAAAAAMEEEHHH-"

"Stop!",a stern female voice made everyone freeze on the spot. Even Vegeta.

"Oh shxt its the Principal.",said someone in the crowd. I glanced over to the light purple woman, she had pointy ears and small white horns on her head, she wore a white suit, a black shirt underneath, black heels and her black hair was tied into a cute messy top bun.

She actually didn't look bad. Looked like she trains...wait the principal is an alien too!?

There were a bunch of guys in black suits behind her. Some alien, some human. Next to one of the guards stood a green dude in our uniform but with his sleeves torn, showing of his ripped muscles. He had pointy ears too and antennas on his forehead. He didn't look quite happy to be here.

The Principal glanced over at Vegeta. He tried to look tough but I could sense he was getting nervous.

"Vegeta.",she said.

"Yes I know ma'am, wont happen again."he said, his voice lowered a bit out of embarrassment.

"Hmp." She turned to me. "I assume you're the new student, Goku." It wasn't a question. She already knew.

"Uhm, yes and you're the principal right?"I asked. I lent out my hand hoping for a handshake but as soon as I did everyone gasped. She glanced at my hand and back at me.

"I'm Principal Toriyama. Goku, Bulma says you're close friends and she's convinced me to enroll you in our school.",she said leaving me hanging. "I hope I didn't make a mistake."

I frantically waved my hands in the air. "Uh no, no, ma'am, I promise it won't ha-happen again."I said.

"Good because I've requested Sensei to add you to the Super MMA team."

"What!!",Vegeta and I screeched in unison. But for completely different reasons.

"Yes, we'll be battling students from across the galaxy and we could use someone like you.",she said. "So, I assume thats a yes." I glanced over at my best friend for a minute.

"Only if my friend Krillin can join too."

"Really Goku!?",Krillin asked with hope I'm his eyes.

"Yeah you're my best friend, I'd be crazy to leave you behind."

"Well I was planning on filling that spot with Piccolo over here.",she said pointing at the green dude, who's arms were folded, still didn't look happy to be here. "But I suppose we have room for one more."

"Yes!",I shouted.

"No!",Vegeta retaliated.

"What was that Vegeta?"the principal asked. "I could easily give away your spot."

"Uh...nothing."

"Then its settled. Now-",she said. She snapped her fingers and a bunch of guys in suits came with a toolbox, a bunch of flowers, paint supplies, shovels, bricks and cement, a wheelbarrow. "-you three are going to clean up this mess and fix what you broke."

"Three?",I asked.

"Yes, you, Vegeta and Piccolo. Piccolo destroyed a few things too, earlier today."she clarified. After all this, her expression never changed. It was still cold and emotionless.

The bell rang and the principal cleared her throat. "Get to work you three. As for everyone else, head to class. Now."she ordered. "Oh, and stop calling me ma'am, makes me feel old."

"Umm, Principal Toriyama.",I heard Krillin say. "Can I help them?"

"Me too."Bulma raised her hand. "And us." The whole gang offered to help. Good 'cause I dont think it'd be a good idea to leave me alone with Vegeta and some grumpy looking green guy I've never met before.

"Sure, I don't care as long as everything is clean."she said blandly. She then left us there, with the men in suits following her.

"Aw, thanks guys."I said. Vegeta just scoffed, grabbed a shovel and began filling the crater we made, alone. I grabbed one too and went over to help him.

"I don't need you're help."he growled.

"Would you just get off your high horse and let us help."Bulma said. Vegeta just grunted and continued.

Boy does she have a way with him. If I said that I'd probably get punched in the face.

Everyone started working. Vegeta and I were filling the crater. Tien and Yamcha were fixing the wall. Krillin was fixing and repainting some benches and poles we broke. Chi Chi, Puar and Oolong tended to the flowers and plants. 18 was helping Bulma fix the wires Vegeta blasted when he tried to hit Krillin, Yamcha, 18 and Tien. Piccolo was fixing the fountain by himself, he enjoys his own company.

"Hey Piccolo."I called out.

"What?" He sounded almost annoyed.

"I'm excited to have you on our team. You must be really strong if they added you.",I said cheerfully.

He smirked and went back to working on the fountain. New school, new friends, new partners and a chance to fight the best fighters across the universe.

Yep, I'm gonna love it here at Capsule High.

[thalassomania]

💖 dragon ball!

shoulda known someone would ask me this :p it is My Brand after all... anyway, since i already gushed about DIO in my jojo ask, it’s now time to gush about my other favorite fictional character ever...

BROLYYYY... my sweet broly... ok so. when i first watched the dbs broly movie i was only like halfway through the original dragon ball (the Classic one with kid goku) and i jumped right into this thinking “lol well if it sucks me and my gf @allstarmode​ can just riff on it.” BUT THEN. BUT THEN dragon ball super: broly was a movie about abuse and trauma?? and it was beautifully animated and oh my GOD the way they rewrote broly was fantastic. i love this character to death he is so special and wonderful... every other piece of DB canon is all “ohhh saiyajins are inherently violent” or whatever but here’s BROLY and he’s kind! he only fights because his horrible father is using him as a tool for revenge!! i never thought i’d see a, what, 7′5″ character as a pure and sweet angel, but that’s what broly is to me. he and DIO are my favorite fictional characters ever for the time being and i love them with all my heart PLEASE SEND ME STUFF ABOUT THEM ILL DIE--

anyway heres more favorites since i cant just talk about broly without mentioning my other loves~

i really really adore goku... a lot... ive thought about his character in-depth soooo much because there’s a lot to explore?? like how he’s not unintelligent, just specializes in areas of intelligence other characters don’t recognize as “smart” (sorta like how my high-school physics teacher was a math genius but misspelled our names on the regular), and how the entirety of classic dragon ball is about him falling in love with the world... GOD i love goku. he’s amazing. i miss his tail.

AND THEN THERE’S THIS ASSHOLE... admittedly i’m not even far enough into Z to have met him yet but i know him through the broly movie and other canon materials and i love this dumbass. he’s no goku but damn is he something special. i look at him and i can’t help but smile because ITS VEGETA!!!! ITS PRINCE VEGETA IV!!!!! also he was at his best in the original saiyajin saga where he was basically what this post called “serial killer gymnast with one foot of hair.” i hate that DBS seems to want to make him taller. let him be short >:( we love our short king

AND THEN THERE’S

PUARRRR everyones favorite genderweird shapeshifting cat-rabbit thing. puar was my first fav character when i was just getting into dragon ball and i still love them to bits even now. admittedly yeah its partly a yamcha kinnie thing but i also just love this character and i wish they were utilized more!! i wanna see how they met yamcha and why theyre so close and i may or may not have my own origin stories based on greek mythology because im gay

and lastly CHICHI!!!! the thing about chichi is that she’s soooo mishandled. iirc toriyama once said something about being bad at writing romance? and he was 100% right b/c poor chichi gets shafted constantly when she’s shown to be a capable fighter and a generally fun character that could do SO MUCH MORE but instead she’s relegated to “goku’s love interest hoohoo” when goku isn’t even, like, outwardly interested?? i think their relationship COULD work but it’s bungled up soooo badly here and i hate how by the time DBZ rolls around it seems her characterization (or at least fans’ perception) becomes “angry b*tch mom lol” like...,,,, she deserves better than that. anyone else remember that time in DB classic when she showed up for a tournament and actually gave goku a run for his money? anyone? anyone? bueller?

i am more awake today so that’s why you got more rambles. you’re Welcome.

OTHER FAV CHARACTERS INCLUDE: launch <3333, kale, dbz broly, my BFF kuririn/krillin, gine, son gohan, raditz, bulma, android 21, cheelai/cheelye.....................

[blundergato]

I finally watched the DBS Broly movie in Japanese. It solved all my problems with the movie.

The best part is that I didn’t have to listen to that creep ass Vic as Broly but also I didn’t have to listen to Sabat OR Schemmel. Since this movie is focused so heavily on those three, it’s nice that I don’t have to listen to a literal piece of shit and two VAs I just don’t like.

I really loved Cheelai’s voice in Japanese as well.

Anyways, this movie is pretty good. Still loved the pre-series proper stuff with the Saiyans and King Cold/Freeza. I want more stuff that focuses on that because I think it’s very interesting and helps expand the universe.

The film eventually devolves into a giant special effects fest, which is fine. It’s visually fun, but I got tired of it after a bit. I did enjoy how much weight they put into the transformations, such as when Vegeta when Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan God or when Goku went Super Saiyan Blue.

I also liked how Broly held his own against Super Saiyan Blue AND then when Super Saiyan, signaling how screwed everyone was. I didn’t see the point of him transforming into the Legendary form only to get his ass kicked anyways. Seemed like a waste.

Another thing is that this movie understood Goku’s character better than the entirety of the Dragon Ball Super anime. When watching Super, I always felt like the Goku we got was just an extremely simplified caricature of the Goku we got throughout classic Dragon Ball and DBZ. 

The Cheelai fanservice is still really weird. Cheelai is built like a stick figure; giant head, pencil thin body, so the fanservice-y shots were both the regular level of gross that most fanservice is, but also just...weird as hell. I know that I laughed every time there was one of these shots because it looked so ridiculous.

Anyways, 8/10 movie, Gohan should have been the main hero and should have fought/befriended Broly.

[thatalfredpennyworth]

Dragon Ball Super Broly Review

Oh god, it's happening, BROLY NOW OFFICIALLY EXISTS IN THE DRAGON BALL UNIVERSE!...*sighs* BRING IT ON! *Spoilers DUH* For those of you who don't know a year ago I watched Broly the Legendary Super Saiyan and found it to be a hot mess. It had a weak and bland villain, over the top dialogue, even in the context of DBZ, and after it happened, I decided it was by far the worst dragon ball z movie I've ever seen...at least it was until I discovered another Broly movie that was even worse. And then came movie three which is without a doubt the worst one. Then this movie came along and it is a Broly movie once again meaning I have to review it. Now I was going to review Quest For Camelot but trust me that atrocity is coming later. This is Dragon Ball Super Broly This is without a doubt THE BEST Dragon Ball Z movie of all time! Quick Note For Families: You don't have to be a fan of Dragon Ball Z to enjoy this one. When I came into the theater, I saw a wide variety of people there and oddly enough, there were a lot of young kids in the theater that fell in love with this movie. Honestly, for a Dragon Ball Z movie, it's surprisingly something that would be pretty appealing to all age groups and even all genders. Most of the DBZ movies are definitely fans only but this one gives viewers enough backstory that you can just jump right in and enjoy it. That said though if you are considering taking any little ones with you, please keep in mind that there are some scenes and characters that sensitive viewers may be uncomfortable with but it really depends on your kid. I honestly don't believe in the Focus on the Family bullshit that if a movie has this many fight scenes or this many swears that it's (in the words of Mermaid Man) "EEEEEEEEEEVVVVVIIIIIIIILLLLLLL!" because it really depends on your kid. Most kids should enjoy it ok, all the kids in my theater loved it and most of them were little girls. I know several people on twitter who have told me that when they were kids back in the toonami days, they were afraid of Vegeta who I would say at this point is a kitten compared to some of the newer characters. Just know your kid and if they can handle all the action, they will have a great time on the adventure. Let's just say, if your kid can handle Star Wars, they can handle this fine. And Now On With the Review: Broly as a Character: When I first came into this I admittedly in some ways got what I was expecting, but in all honestly, there were plenty of surprises and interesting choices made here. In the original story, Broly was not only extremely powerful but he was a violent ball of rage who could not say anything other than his infamous "KAKAROOOOOOOT". He was pretty bland in the original story and was just kind of there to be the huge boss fight. In some ways, he was a bit of a big lipped alligator character. Here Broly is more of a Quasimodo type character, someone who could do some serious damage if pushed far enough but is a misunderstood gentle giant. Yeah, we've heard this story, it's Ferdinand the bull but with saiyans though what they do with it is surprisingly compelling and actually kind of relevant to the way some conservatives go too far when parenting children who don't necessarily fit in with social standards. In that case, the Frollo of this story is Paragus. He's a complete asshole who's constantly nitpicking and micromanaging his son because of the fact that he was born with an abnormal CP. He doesn't let Broly speak unless he's told it's ok, he calls Broly a danger to others, refuses to let Broly pursue his own interests and even hooks him up to an electrode device...I'm not kidding, that's in the movie. Gee, where have I seen this kind of parenting before...Oh yeah, the F%$king Judge Rotenberg Center treats their students EXACTLY like this! For those of you who don't know, there's a video on youtube of a news reporter visiting this place to find out if hooking mentally divergent children to shock devices is an abusive practice. In this video, she meets a young girl named Rachel wearing a shock device on her arms, neck and legs which is hooked up to her. Rachel seems to be calm but refuses to speak. The reporter asks to see the shock device remote and as soon as the aid pulls it out off a belt on her waist, Rachel tries to back away, moans and starts to cry. There's a scene in the movie that actually goes almost EXACTLY like that and for some people, it could be triggering. What's interesting about what they do with Broly is the fact that there's some animal motifs with his character being likened to domestic dogs, ,more specifically, bully breeds like pit bulls and rotties, dogs that have some of the strongest bite forces in the animal kingdom but are in general pretty gentle animals that don't attack unless seriously provoked. We even see that at one point Broly had a pet that was kind of like a space dog. Paragus of course wanted Broly to be a fighter so he considered the "dog" a distraction and shot its ear off. Broly decided that he'd keep the animal's ear pelt as a makeshift blanket to wrap on his waist in order to remember his pet. Broly is also socially awkward, shy and even a bit emotional when he finds someone he trusts, that person being Cheelai. Broly does not want to be a soldier for Paragus but would rather live a peaceful existence on Vampa, of course Paragus disapproves of this and forces him into Frieza's army to which Frieza can manipulate him more. Broly is not fighting Goku because he wants to, he's fighting because he's been provoked far enough by his father and Frieza and cannot control his suppressed emotions. He's a complex social outcast who cannot control his own power yet and just wants to have a friend or two in his life. This Broly is 1,000 times better than the original and there were moments when I was actually crying. This Broly is a reflection of real world child abuse and for a dragon ball z movie, they tackle the abuse of divergent children by parents and teachers rather realistically and thoughtfully. Cheelai is not a peer to Broly, she's a legitimate friend and what comes out of their bond is really heartwarming. I can say this, you will end up rooting for him and smiling when he gets to pursue his own life in the end. Positive Elements: The rest of the cast is also pretty well put together. We see character development from almost everyone, and yes, even Frieza has several moments of this. Goku and Vegeta are the highlights of the movie besides Broly and are just a ton of fun to watch. Goku's got some good one liners, Vegeta's got some softie moments and of course, the fight choreography BLOWS the rest of Dragon Ball Z away. This movie's fight scenes kicked ass and no expense is spared here. The animation is superb and is without a doubt, the best in the franchise. I'd even say it reminds me of Don Bluth animation, it'd gorgeous to look at and although a bunch of craziness is flying at you, it looks amazing. The backstory on our saiyans is also well thought out and executed. We meet Goku's parents, a loving saiyan couple that sense something is up with Frieza and want to save their son by sending him to Earth. We meet Vegeta III who's an ableist power hungry jerk, and we get to see plenty of other new saiyans with distinctive personalities. Everything is connected in this story and it really shows how hard they were trying to write a thoughtful and compelling piece. We get to see plenty of amazing new locations, some excellent backdrops and get more insight into what makes these characters tick. The humor in this is also some of the best in the franchise. We had people in my theater cracking up when Goku and Vegeta left Frieza to deal with Broly for an hour while doing the fusion dance. There's even a nice little message about being who you are which is really nice to see out of a dragon ball z movie. The musical score is also pretty well done. Unlike any other dragon ball z movie, the score here is more orchestral and feels theatrical. The Gogeta transformation is absolutely perfect and is everything fans of Gogeta were hoping for. The final fight is just phenomenally animated and really blew  me away on the big screen. Also, the fact that they chose to let Broly live on as a friend to the main cast with more adventures to come for him is a positive way to further the message of the movie. The way this movie is executed is near perfect and serves as an experience that both fans of the show and newcomers can go and enjoy. What can I say, this movie is a fun and emotional popcorn flick that will leave you on the edge of your seats and cheering for our main cast. Nitpicks: There are definitely problems as with any movie. I'd say the biggest one is the waist of Beerus as a gag character. This is the friggin GOD OF DESTRUCTION and they reduce him to a throwaway gag early on. They also don't do a lot with Whis and that was kind of disappointing. We do finally get to see Whis in combat but it's blink and you will miss. Also, Frieza has lost a lot of his intimidation at this point. I'd say he's more of a troll than an evil emperor and his purpose in life is now just to mess with Goku rather than blow up his planet. It gets some good laughs but it feels out of character. These are the only true problems I have with the movie and honestly, these are really just nitpicks and not true criticisms. I really can't find any real faults with this one, and that's saiyan a lot The Verdict: Rarely do I consider a movie, let alone a dragon ball z movie, in the ranks of classics like Star Wars and Close Encounters, but Dragon Ball Super Broly truly deserves to be recognized as a cinematic classic in its own right. I hate most of the dragon ball z movies with Wrath of the Dragon and Battle of Gods being the only ones I really liked. This movie BLOWS all the previous films away and for me, even surpasses the entire franchise. New risks are taken here, more challenging topics are talked about, and our characters are more grey rather than just black and white. What makes this movie truly spectacular is that it can reach an audience beyond the fanbase. I saw people of all ages in that theater and I'd say about half the theater was non fans interested in checking the movie out for a popcorn flick night. I've only ever given a standing ovation in a theater to Star Wars VII, Coco, Arrival and Black Panther. Dragon Ball Super Broly is now on that list of films I've stood up clapping for. The visuals are stunning, the characters are multi dimensional, the story is near perfect, the music gave me goosebumps, it's a masterpiece of science fiction. I'd tell you to go see it, but let's face it, you probably already have. This is one super saiyan sized flick that will leave you cheering and asking for more. Story: 10/10 Characters: 9/10 Animation: 10/10 Rating: 9.5/10

[hotstreak2k3]

Things we want for the upcoming Dragon Ball Super movie (2020) and future episodes!

While we are airing some English Dub version on a Adult Swim, there is a fatal announcement that another DBS movie is on development. Even Gohan’s dub actor Kyle Herbert wasn’t happy to know that his character isn’t in that film this time around.

Many fans have been wondering where do we go next since the Galactic PatrolPrisoner Manga Arc is unexpected goes beyond the series. Even though CBR had given some possible storylines in the upcoming movie, I am not certain we can bring back the Red Ribbon Army anytime or any other weird scenario from their list.

So here are the list of possible storylines and changes we fans should expect to see in either the next Dragon Ball movie or saved for the future episodes and manga arcs afterwards:

20.) The return of blood, gore and better animation quality from Dragon Ball Super: Broly.

19.) Gohan and Krillin enjoy their slice of life with their wives and kids in future Episodes... and train for the next threat as well.

18.) Filling up a fan theory of one the Angels sinister plot against Grand Zeno’s... and it could possibly be the Grand Minister.

17.) Bringing back Vic Mignogna as the voice of Broly

16.) Another Future Trunks Saga where we can see our favorite hero and future Mai settle down at since their Original Timeline was obliterated by Zeno

15.) One time story mini arc of Universe 6’s Saiyans (Cabba, Kale and Caulifla) adventures. In addition, explore more on their threesome relationship and the Saiyan society.

14.) Broly and Cheelai’s relationship blossoms (At least that what most fans would see a anime reference of Tarzan and Jane)

13.) Son Goku meet his parents, Bardock and Gine, for the first time!

12.) Piccolo merge with an namekian god to gain the power that rivals Super Saiyan Blue.

13.) Cooler is hint to be canon just like Tarble. But fairly some of us want our favorite badass villain to side with his brother Frieza, not as an anti-hero

12.) for the Dragon Ball Fighterz adaptation, Android 21 is now a beloved character thanks to Akira Toriyama himself. But not everyone wants the revived villains from the game. Plus her good half and the her human link partner would be a great addition to the Z Fighters. Wheras bringing back Android 16 would be a lot of fun. It’ll be cool to see a human fighting soul, his Majin Bio waifu and Goku to take on the Evil Android 21.

11.) Warriors from the Tournament of Power teamed with Son Goku and the Z Fighters to save the Multiverse from a much greater threat... like Frieza or Hearts [A villain from the Super Dragon Ball Heroes mini series]

10.) The return of Tien Shinhan and a long forgotten character Good/Bad Launch.

9.) King Kai teaches Tien, Yamcha and Chiaotzu the Kaioken technique!

8.) The development on Goten and Trunks; Goku trains Broly on Planet Vampa to control his inner power!

7.) Don’t add anymore Super Saiyan forms! Give the Z Fighters time to get caught up with their own strength, and the classic aspect from the original Dragon Ball series needs to come back!

6.) When Jiren was shown up in the Tournament of Power arc, he has poven to be the strongest warrior in the Multiverse. His potential story would be interesting to explore more of his tragic past while Goku’s for another round for this broken hero of Universe 11.

5.) Universe 7’s Saiyans (Goku, Gohan, Vegeta and Broly) visit Planet Sadala Of Universe 6. Also had a friendly spar with Cabba, Kale and Caulifla.

4.) In the Universal Survival arc, Gohan made a promise to Frieza that he will finish him up himself if Earth is threaten. Hell yeah! I wanna see our boy beat that galactic tyrant in his own hands. Sorry Goku!

3.) Make the Z Fighters become more prominent characters then being on the sideline. I mean for real Toriyama! Why is Super so focus on Son Goku and Vegeta? They already had their moments. So now it’s their turn take on the baddies much or similarly like DBZ.

-Krillin has decided to go back as a martial artist so that’ll be something for fans of the Dragon Ball.

-Tien’s new take as a role ofSensai would interesting enough to see how he teaches his pupils while taming Yurin and had another rematch with Mercenary Tao.

- Android 17 is surprisingly strong in the Tournament of Power. So would it be easy enough to had him aid Goku and friends in future battles? You damn right!

-Master Roshi is has been heavenly underestimated by his opponents, and he has overcome his pervert behavior in the TOP. Plus he can use Mafūba more then once despite how dangerous the sealing technique is. This Turtle hermit need some more comeback after a long absent.

-Videl is being treated like a housewife for her daughter Pan in Super. But many fans had forgotten that this gal is martial arts fighter in her own right in the Majin Buu Saga. When she hold on her own against Spopovich in a bloody fight, I was amazed how determined and inner strength the daughter of Satan has proven. Dont care what people are saying, she deserves more. So why can’t her husband Gohan teach her the Kamahamaha wave? Why haven’t he reason her training? This problem needs to be fixed!

2.) While Japanese fans were all looked up to Son Goku as their favorites, many westerners like me like Gohan more. He may not into fighting, but he’s willing to do it in order to keep his friends and family safe. Plus he did state that he is searching for a power beyond his Mystic form. So I hope Toriyama can hear this own out.... MAKE GOHAN GREAT AGAIN!!!

1.) Had Goku mastered his Ultra Instinct!

So here is my list I hope Toriyama and @toei-animation-official should consider take some advices. For the most part, I am not only speaking for myself, but to many Dragon Ball fans who grew up with the show since childhood. So don’t let all of us down! 🙂👍

[recentanimenews]

The 10 Most Stylish Anime Fashion Collaborations You Should Be Wearing!

Some say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Well, I'm the beholder and have arranged the most chic selection of the most ambitious crossovers in recent history, anime and fashion!

  The following list will be based on the single most important aspect of fashion, how well each collaboration brings out the inner charm of the anime it's representing. From handbags to shirts to socks to skateboards, this list will give you some great fashion inspiration to really anime up your wardrobe, or simply take a look at some interesting ways in which the world of anime has been brought to life in fashion!

10.  Super Groupies x Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Shoes are an interesting item for a collaboration, and we’ll take a look at a few more sneaker collaborations later in the list, but this one starts us off with simplistic and elegant designs fit for Puella Magi Madoka Magica! This collection from Super Groupies features every Puella Magi Madoka Magica character represented in shoe form, with their respective colors, emblems, and other little touches for the main cast. Super Groupies even continued the collaboration to include the movies, creating renditions of their Homura and Madoka shoes to reflect the changes each girl goes through during the course of the films. The shoes all feature a unique, soul gem-esque heel, color coded to the girls they represent as well! One of the nicest things about them is that the shoes are also quite beautiful and would easily fit into almost any wardrobe that’s in need of some magical footwear! 

9.  Bait x Diadora x Astro Boy

When picking collaborations, it’s pretty hard to pass up on one that features one of the most iconic anime characters of all time! Astro Boy is a world famous character, and Bait teamed up with Diadora to create a memorable and stylish collection of clothing to celebrate him. The collection features sneakers, hats, socks, jackets, and more, allowing you to really kit yourself out in full style! While it doesn’t give you rocket boots or a butt machine gun, it will give you lots of street cred with the subtle mixture of cute and stylish fashion!

  8. Anna Sui x 7 Manga

We first reported on this collaboration happening in 2015, and the collection really turned out to be outstanding! Each of the unique items made for the collaboration worked to create something fashionable and stylish, ranging from purses, handbags, shirts, and more! Plus, it was an amazing collaboration featuring beloved series like Unico, Paradise Kiss, Patalliro!, Rose of Versailles, Princess Jellyfish, Princess Knight and Urusei Yatsura. You would be hard pressed to find a collection of titles that great represented in one place, and Anna Sui made sure that each design held the essence of their originating series!

7. Air Jordan x Slam Dunk

Where the Astro Boy collaboration went for a slightly minimal style and homage to its designated series, the Air Jordan 6 Retro Slam Dunk shoes go for a much more in your face design. The sneakers feature a stark red and white color mixture to invoke the jerseys of Shohoku high, and are emblazoned with the number 10, worn by series protagonist Sakuragi Hanamichi! Not only do the shoes feature the colors and numbers of the manga, they’re also designed with panels of the manga printed onto the shoe itself, using red and white coloring to make them stand out. Like most Jordans, this one is a great collectible piece of fashion, but the attention to specific details really make this collaboration a slam dunk! (...Sorry, I couldn't help myself there!)

6. Gucci x Hirohiko Araki

If you’re a fan of Hirohiko Araki’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, you’re probably not going to find this collaboration very surprising: two artists known for extremely stylish and evocative designs, united under one roof! The most intriguing thing about this collaboration was the timing, starting when Araki was about to celebrate his 30th anniversary, and Gucci their 90th! Araki has had other collaborations in the past, such as his manga devoted to the Louvre, featuring Diamond is Unbreakable’s Rohan Kishibe. For this Gucci commission, Araki took existing Gucci designs and worked them into his art, styling characters in the brand’s designs from head to toe, and accessorizing with iconic Gucci handbags. He even created a special manga that ran in SPUR magazine, once again featuring Rohan as the starring character, visiting Gucci headquarters!

5. Skechers x One Piece

When you’re trying to become Pirate King, style may not be high on your mind, but the Straw Hat Pirates have always had some stylish looks, and you can join them with these cool kicks from Skechers! The series of D’Lites features shoes emblazoned with One Piece characters like Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper, with more designs on the way, including Law and Doflamingo! Each shoe is color coded to the character and features small touches that help tie the design together: Luffy’s shoe has the classic red, blue, and white design, and the Straw Hat Pirates logo on the tongue. Meanwhile, Chopper’s shoe features his iconic mixture of blue and pink sakura petals. Each shoe’s tongue has a special Jolly Roger design, with Luffy sporting the famous Strawhat Pirates logo, while other characters have unique designs of their own!

  4. Primitive x Dragon Ball Z

For anime fans of a certain age, you might remember the 90s trend of mixing skate culture with anime, notably in the form of a brand known as Hook-Ups, featuring scantily clad anime girls on their designs. In 2018, skate brand Primitive teamed up with the iconic Dragon Ball Z franchise to produce a line of skate decks, wheels, clothing, mugs, and more! Primitive’s line is colorful and stylish, with the most iconic characters front and center in their designs, even featuring Shenron! Primitive’s line gives you a great way to show off your love for your favorite Dragon Ball Z characters while also looking stylish while you grind, or you could simply collect each of the decks for display on your wall! Either way, this colorful collaboration really takes advantage of the bright visual styles of Dragon Ball Z’s characters to create some memorable clothing and accessories. And, speaking of Dragon Ball Z, that brings us to our next item...

3. Adidas x Dragon Ball Z

2018 has certainly been quite a year for Dragon Ball, with the ending of Dragon Ball Super capturing global attention, the release of Dragon Ball FighterZ, the Dragon Ball Z x Primitive collab, the announcement of the new Broly movie, and to cap things off, an official Adidas collaboration! Adidas will be working with Dragon Ball Z, moving from saga to saga to create special shoes evocative of many of the iconic characters and battles in the series. The first set are a pair of shoes for Goku and Frieza, with Vegeta, Gohan, Cell, Majin Buu, and Shenron on the way later this year. The most intriguing thing about this collaboration is the way in which Adidas has chosen each character’s design to be represented by a different shoe type, allowing each one to really bring out the colors and even character of their namesakes, from Goku’s rougher, simpler design to Frieza’s alien, rounded aesthetic! The first set will be out later this month, so if you want to get in on this collaboration, keep your eyes peeled!

2. Punyus x Sailor Moon

We first reported on this collaboration last year, and it remains one of our absolute favorites! Plus-sized model and comedienne Naomi Watanabe launched Punyus to create designs that would be charming and unique, but most importantly, able for any size to wear. This collaboration brought a whole line of rompers, tops, bags, and of course, sailor themed dresses and skirts for fans of the iconic magical girl anime! Sailor Moon is a series about friendship, love, and overcoming any hardship with team work, and Punyus is a brand about making fashionable and colorful clothing available to everyone, so this collaboration was a no-brainer for inclusion in our list!

  1. Uniqlo x Shonen Jump

For our number 1 spot, we chose the recent 50th Anniversary collaboration between Shonen Jump and Uniqlo! This mixup saw a slew of unique Jump inspired shirts, each one a stylish and colorful homage to Jump series past and present. Where many collaborations focus on a single, popular title, the Uniqlo Jump collaboration spanned the 50 years of Jump’s library, featuring shirts for obvious modern favorites like Naruto, One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Hunter x Hunter, historical titles like Kochi Kame, Hell Teacher Nube, and Rookies, and even obscure, lesser known globally titles like Pyuu to Fuku! Jaguar. These shirts attempted to cover the entire library of Jump titles, but they also ensured they did so in various fashions: iconic scenes like the Straw Hat Pirates raising their arms, Killua’s killing intent unleashed, and of course, Yamcha’s death! Speaking from personal experience, there are so many great designs that you might not have enough closet space for them all! Many of these shirts sold out almost immediately, but if you’re lucky, you might be able to still find some for sale online or in a local Uniqlo store!

As anime and manga become even more popular globally, and with many more iconic anniversaries on the way, it seems like we’ll be in for a lot more cool fashion collaborations, and while our wallets may cry, at least we’ll look fashionable while repping our favorite anime in style!

Know any other anime or manga fashion collaborations that you’d like to see walk our runway? Let us know in the comments!

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Nicole is a features and a social video script writer for Crunchyroll. Known to profess her love of otome games over at her blog, Figuratively Speaking. When she has the time, she also streams some games. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries 

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super manga Ch. 47-50

Man, you said it, Piccolo.

So Moro has escaped the Galactic Patrol’s prison after 10,000,000 years in confinement, and his plan is to restore his original magic power by using the Namekian Dragon Balls.  He found out about the Namekians from fellow prisoner Cranberry, who was one of Frieza’s goons during the Namek Saga of DBZ.  So when Moro escaped, he took Cranberry with him to lead him to the Namekians, although I’m not sure how that works, since Cranberry would have no idea how to find New Namek, or that there’s even a New Namek to be found.

Anyway, Goku and Vegeta tried to stop Moro, only to get their powers drained, and they’ve spent the last three days recovering while Moro has been very slowly gathering the Dragon Balls.  Goku thinks they can stop him by hiding the one they’re with and suppressing their ki.  But it turns out Moro can detect the Dragon Balls directly, so he doesn’t need to rely on Namekian life signs to show him the way.

So Goku and Vegeta decide to face him head on, since they don’t seem to have any better options.  Moro is surprised to find they’re still alive, but he plans to kill them once and for all this time. 

Oh, when I was complaining about how this arc just rehashes a lot of themes and imagery from classic Dragon Ball, I forgot to mention how Moro’s whole dynamic with Cranberry and his quest to restore his former power is lifted straight from King Piccolo.  It’s a shame, because I want to like Moro.  He has a cool look if nothing else, but they’re just not giving me anything to work with here.

So things look dire for Goku and Vegeta, until suddenly Merus shows up.  Recall that Goku and Vegeta teleported to New Namek on their own because Merus’ ship was still a few days’ travel away from the planet.  Well, those days have passed, and now Merus is here to lend a hand.  First he reveals this new device that was designed to trap Moro temporarily.  It won’t last long, but it doesn’t have to.  Merus just needs Moro to hold still for the second part of his plan...

...Majin Buu, whom he brought along.  The only one who could defeat Moro ten million years ago was the Grand Supreme Kai, and Majin Buu absorbed him five million years ago, so Merus has used hypnotherapy to reawaken the Kaioshin’s memories within Buu, and apparently it worked.  Buu not only recognizes Moro, but he’s outraged at all the terrible things Moro did in the past. 

Moro breaks free of Merus’ sticky trap, but it doesn’t seem to matter, because Buu kicks the shit out of him.  Moro’s energy draining ability doesn’t seem to work on Buu at all, and Buu seems to have gotten stronger from having the Kaioshin’s dormant memories brought out.  But this is all for nothing if Buu doesn���t use the magic-sealing technique that Merus needs him to use. 

But before Buu can use that technique, Cranberry summons the Namekian Dragon, and starts making wishes.  Apparently he has some device that can force a Namekian to translate his wishes, which is a clever plot device, except Cranberry never made it far enough to find out that Porunga only responds to the Namekian language, so I don’t see how he would have known to use a device like this. 

Anyway, Moro convinces Cranberry to wish for Moro’s magic to be restored, and then he kills Cranberry for his trouble, because he has another wish he needs granted.  We don’t find out what that is right away, but stay tuned.

Meanwhile, Buu restores Goku and Vegeta to their full power and assumes the appearance and personality of the Grand Supreme Kai for the duration of this battle.  I never thought of this before, but maybe Buu’s healing powers were always abilities he got from the Kais he absorbed, rather than an innate power.  I guess the only way to know for sure would be if Kid Buu healed someone, but he’d never do that.

Then we get a bonus segment which reveals Cranberry’s origin story.  He was the Frieza soldier who got beat up by the Namekian villagers, and Zarbon superkicked him to death.  Well, Mr. Popo wished back everyone who was killed by Frieza and his soldiers, and that includes Cranberry, who managed to escape Namek’s destruction by fleeing in Vegeta’s spaceship.  This probably would have been more interesting if Cranberry had gotten to do more in this story, but he’s already dead, so we know he’s done.

Moro declares victory and tries to leave the planet, but the good guys pursue, although only Buu can fight Moro in the vacuum of space.  The problem is that he’s no longer a match for Moro now that Moro’s got his magic restored.  He goes for that technique the Kai used 10 million years ago, but Moro figures out it’s a bluff.  Buu doesn’t have the power to execute it this time.  But why should that be?

Merus suspects that it’s because Majin Buu separated into two beings during the Buu Saga.  Merus assumed that the good Buu retained all of the Grand Supreme Kai’s power, since he kept the Kai’s appearance, but maybe Kid Buu got some of it after all.  And since Kid Buu is dead, that means the surviving Buu doesn’t have the power he needs to pull off Merus’ plan. 

But it’s not all bad news.  Merus’ original idea has failed, but Goku and Vegeta are confident that they can overpower Moro in a fair fight.  The problem is that Moro keeps using his magic to drain their power, which spoils things.  So Merus sends them back to New Namek, and he goes out to help Buu. With his sticky trap weapon and the Grand Supreme Kai’s teleportation power, they manage to bring Moro back to the planet’s surface, where they can all fight him together. 

So I like that idea.  Moro’s not invincible like Super Buu or Jiren.  He’s got a lot of different abilities, but he still has some weaknesses, which can be exploited as long as Goku, Vegeta, Buu, and Merus work together.  Unfortunately, Moro had one other trick up his sleeve.

Remember that other wish he made to Porunga?  Well it was to free all the prisoners at the Galactic Patrol’s jail.  He had struck a deal with them all before the story started, and now that he’s busted them out, they head for New Namek to back him up.  Wait, how did they get to New Namek so quickly?  It took Merus days to make the trip.

Of course, you might wonder what difference escaped convicts could make in a battle like this, but Moro uses his magic to empower them, which is also a nice touch.  Moro may not be physically strong enough to defeat a Super Saiyan Blue, but he can make others stronger, and he can drain Goku and Vegeta’s powers while they take on the small fry. 

Eventually, Goku and Vegeta are overwhelmed, and the good guys are forced to withdraw.  Goku prepares to teleport everyone back to GP headquarters, but Vegeta decides that he’s sick of this shit and refuses to join the others.  Instead, he takes off after the spaceship that brought Merus’ group to New Namek. 

They make their own escape, and the pilot plans to regroup with the others at GP headquarters, but Vegeta forces him to take the ship to Yardrat instead. 

And this is really the first interesting twist to the whole arc.  I was getting pretty bored with Goku and Vegeta being joined at the hip, getting outmaneuvered by Moro while Merus makes all his big plans.  It’s one thing when it’s just one of them, but when they’re both doing the same thing, it’s redundant, so it makes sense for Vegeta to get sick of this shit and seek out an alternative strategy.  He’s sick of magic and tricks and teleportation, and he’s convinced that he can defeat Moro in a direct confrontation, so he’s chosen to take matters into his own hands.  So we’ll see how it plays out. 

Things have gotten a little better with these chapters, but I’m still not sold on this story.  We’ll just have to see how it goes...

[tigerlover16-uk]

So, at what point do you think it was that Krillin actually surpassed Tien? And why do so many people seem insistent that Tien has to be stronger and aggressively push that idea?

If they weren’t already even by the Piccolo Jr saga where Krillin pushed Piccolo to use his full power to defeat him, then Krillin either surpassed him during the one year of training in the Saiyan saga, or if not there definitely when he had his potential unlocked by Guru on Namek.

As for why a lot of people refuse to believe Krillin’s stronger than Tien, it’s mostly a mix of bias and the anime exaggerating Tien’s abilities.

Take the filler in the Frieza saga where Tien, Yamcha and Chiaotzu fight off most of the Ginyu force, whereas Vegeta, Krillin and Gohan had all got their buts kicked by Recoome alone. If we’re being honest that’s baloney, since Vegeta and Krillin were just as skilled if not more so than either of those 3, and with the amount of time they were on King Kai’s planet they really shouldn’t have been able to progress to the point where they were stronger, if we take into consideration Goku’s power boost from training there for a greater length of time.

The anime would also exaggerate Tien’s abilities in a few more cases, like in the scene where he pins Cell down with the Tri-beam. In the manga he didn’t spam the attack that much, and he was only just barely able to slow Cell down long enough for 18 and 16 to escape. But the anime dragged it out a lot longer to try and make Tien look a lot more impressive. And it’s a cool moment in either version don’t get me wrong, I loved it, but point is it shows a trend of the anime exaggerating Tien’s abilities, making him look more powerful than he really was supposed to be at that point in the series.

And there’s also the matter of Tien fighting Future Trunks briefly in the movie Bojack Unbound, even getting him to go super Saiyan against him, whereas Krillin at the same point in the movie was freaking out over the prospect of having to fight Piccolo.

Stuff like that kind of throws people off since not everyone actually reads the manga or watched Kai, and even if they did that sort of stuff still probably leaves an impact that subconsciously colours their perceptions of both characters skill level during Z. Also, there’s this weird perception that I think was also due to something suggested in filler that Tien constantly trains 24/7, but that’s never actually been suggested in canon and as far as we know Krillin and Tien probably train just as much and as hard.

Taking all of that aside though… well, a lot of people are just biased because Tien… basically looks more like a tough guy compared to Krillin.

Krillin is short, designed more as a non-threatening sidekick character, and is generally characterized as fairly sweet, expressive and a generally nice guy, the kind of character you want as your buddy. He’s not exactly a traditionally masculine character in a lot of ways. 

Tien though, he kind of is. He’s tall, buff (Krillin’s no slouch himself, but his musculature is often less defined), and a walking shirtless scene for many of his appearances, especially when he fights. And while he can have his comedic moments (”You can’t tuna fish!”), his personality is generally a lot more straight faced and serious, and often stoic. And there’s the fact that he’s a former assassin and thus a redeemed villain.

So in general, Tien on the surface does come off as a more traditionally macho kind of character, which a lot of DBZ fans latch onto because a sizeable portion of the traditional fandom was obsessed with raw strength and masculinity and rejected characters seen as weak or who show emotion that isn’t stern warrior male or angst at the death of a loved one (Which is probably why Tien doesn’t get mocked for his pointless sacrifice against Nappa, despite dying just one time less than Krillin and both he and Yamcha get flack for being red shirts supposedly). See the rift between people who think super Saiyan 2 was where Gohan’s character hit his peak and everything in the Buu saga beyond ruined him forever, verses more rational fans who appreciate Gohan for who he is for a classic example of this mindset.

And then of course there’s the fact that the fandom has long been taken over by memes to the point many people insist that TFS’s portrayals of the characters in the Abridged series are a more accurate depiction of them than the actual canon, so Krillin being the fandoms biggest butt monkey for years after Yamcha has made a lot of people aggressively refuse to believe that Krillin is in any way capable of being a competent fighter and that he MUST be weaker than all the other characters that aren’t Yamcha!

So, yeah, basically a lot of fans just make really poor assumption on things out of bias. And don’t get me wrong, I love Tien. He’s one of my favourites too, and I want to see him in action a lot more in the future too… but, no. Facts are facts, Krillin is the strongest non-enhanced human being on earth. A level he earned through hard work and a lot of struggle. That doesn’t mean Tien is not also a very impressive and admirable fighter, but it’s also not an insult to acknowledge that Krillin is stronger than him, it’s just the way things are.

[aion-rsa]

The Best Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game Decks

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This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Dragon Ball Z collectible card game. After launching in 2000, the DBZ CCG ran until 2008, when it was replaced by the Dragon Ball CCG with revamped rules, which was discontinued shortly thereafter. In 2014, Panini remade the original game, leading to the Dragon Ball Super CCG in 2017, the version that’s still running today. That’s four iterations across two official relaunches in the span of 20 years, if you’ve lost count.

That all being said, both the classic and current versions of the game are still worth looking into. Borrowing mechanics from Pokémon TCG and Magic: The Gathering, the Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super collectible card games are a compelling, fun way to play out battles as if they’d occur in the anime. The thrust is that you play one of the many warriors from throughout the series, such as Goku, Vegeta, Frieza, and so on, and you use the cards in your deck to power them up and attack your opponent. The first player with no life, or no cards left in their deck, loses. It’s not unlike the many fighting video games based on the property, just more strategic and, keenly, analog and collectible.

The Dragon Ball Best Decks

As with any card game, the best place to start is with one of the boxed, pre-made decks. Not only does this begin your collection, but you also get a rule-book, playmat, and some novelty tokens to use in-game. Dragon Ball Z offers a variety of starter decks in the original wave, and the Dragon Ball Super version. 

If you’re nostalgic and want to start with something you know you’ll recognize, the Warriors Return Frieza deck is a strong deal right now. Costing around $20 including postage, this Frieza deck is a build based around the well-known, much maligned villain. You get the Super Rare Frieza, who leads the deck, and a selection of 30 cards that range from combat and events, which influence the tide of battle, and more passive cards like allies and setups, whose effects are more subtle.

Towards the higher end, you have the Saiyan Saga Hero Start Deck, giving you over 50 cards based on Dragon Ball Z‘s first saga. This is a little harder to come by, and can run you up to $60 or more, but you get a wider selection of cards, including more rares and uncommons, and several characters from which you can choose to build your deck around. The selection of heroes is random, so you might not get anyone you specifically love, but they’re all useful in one way or another.

For Dragon Ball Super, you’ve got more options at steadier prices. The Guardian of Namekians is one such set, based around stalwart hero of the Dragon Ball universe Piccolo, and a bonding ability that chains several cards together. This Namekian-themed deck is sitting pretty at less than $20 with postage at time of writing, so it’s very cheap and cheerful. The Crimson Saiyan deck delves into the saiyan heroes, featuring many of your favorites, like Gohan and Goku, in super saiyan form. It uses a swap mechanic that lets you trade an ability from your hand with one in play, allowing you to quickly get out stronger abilities faster. Both of these sets come with five cards exclusive to the decks, too, so you’re adding good ammunition for trading and the singles market if you invest in either.

The Best Dragon Ball Cards

Once you’ve come to grips with the basics of both the DBZ CCG and the DBS CCG, you can start looking into getting your chosen heroes and building around them. Many full, four-level sets of heroes and villains can be bought for relatively cheap, letting you get all the cards needed to make a deck of your favorite Dragon Ball protagonist.

Naturally, Goku is top of the list here, and you can find sets of the saiyan warrior for as little as $20, delivering four levels of the hero. Several versions of Gohan are on the market to choose from, whether you’re looking for Kid Gohan or Teen Gohan. The most expensive is a set that covers Gohan just before he goes super saiyan for the first time, with the saiyan armor. You get all four levels, and a bonus rare level two that comes with an attack bonus. A Great Saiyaman set, at around $40, is cheaper, and provides the same early-level rare, in addition to the full progression of Great Saiyaman, if you want to relive that particular chapter of the anime.

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Some other worthwhile sets include Vegeta, costing around $30 for four cards, a three-card set for Yamcha at around $25, and the mighty Hercule, who would certainly be worth the $25 or so, just for the expression on your opponent’s face that this is the direction you’re going. If you’d like some of the rarer foil cards, you can find the likes of a pair of Gotenks for $25, or Goku, the King’s Principle, on its own for $15. To jump to the top of the market, a Broly set is floating around, containing five cards of the all-powerful super saiyan, for $150. Pricey, but you’d be hard to beat, and you have some very attractive looking cards while you’re at it.

The singles market in Dragon Ball Super can be as competitive. A Son Goku, Hope of Universe 7, for instance, can run you around $15, and SS4 Vegeta Peak Of Primitive Power has a price-tag of over $150 right now, so it’s a real sliding scale. The best bet, for now, is a box of boosters, and you can pre-order a box for the latest expansion, Vermilion Bloodline, for around $90, bringing you right up to date, and likely netting you some of the rares that’ll attract big bucks in the near future.

The post The Best Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game Decks appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[therealeagal]

Dragon Ball Super episode 77

My thoughts as they occurred. Let’s start...not now...not now...not now...okay now.

Holy shit, new intro!

Oh look, Android 17.

Wtf is Roshi doing there? Dude hasn't been able to fight on the same level as the guys since before the end of Dragon Ball classic.

Is that a female Buu Vegeta is fighting?

I like it ok, but I still prefer the first one.

Zen-oh squared destroying planets as a game. Wtf, man? At least Beerus does it because it's his job and also they annoyed him. But doing it just because is a total dick move.

Dumbasses trying to mug Goku. Dude's been immune to bullets since he was like 10.

"There aren't any more bad guys", says Chichi. Yeah, that's what they said before Zamasu showed up. You've already got Gohan to be an academic, why not let Goten be what he wants?

And wtf is she on about wanting Goten to study anyway? she was the one who taught Goten to fight in the first place!

Bulma's preggers! Vegeta, you dog! I guess that would be the future baby Bra.

Also, how the hell much time has passed since the last arc?

So does Bulma honestly not recognize Pilaf and Mai and...that other one?

"I was dead when Goten was born." The ultimate excuse.

Beerus talking sense about Zen-Oh being dangerous while Goku's just being a schmuck. Give a child the ability to destroy the universe. Whose idea was that?

I forget, is Beerus more important than the Supreme Kais or are they on the same level of importance?

On the 3,135,500,603rd day of the King's Calender? What the hell kind of calendar is that?

Ten warriors? Goku and Vegeta, obviously. Picollo, Krillin, 18, 17, Buu, Tien and Roshi for some unBeerusly reason. That's only nine. Drop Roshi and stick in Goten and Trunks. Those two shit on Roshi.

Oh, I forgot Gohan.

Well, drop Roshi anyway and stick in Gotenks for that matter.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super 076

“Hey, are you new here?”

“Yeah, I’m Dabura.  King of the Demon Realm.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Raditz.  Goku’s evil brother.”

“Hey, that’s really cool.”

“Thanks, but King of the Demon Realm sounds pretty cool too.  I mean, that’s metal as fuck.”

“Sure, but you can’t beat that personal stuff.  The hero’s evil brother?  That is classic stuff.  I wish I was someone’s evil brother.  I mean, I have a sister, but she’s evil too, so it just isn’t the same.  So uh... what’s this all about?”

“Oh, right.  So this is a thing where one of the characters is having a personal crisis, and we’re manifestations of his doubts and fears.”

“Ohhhhhh, I get it.  Well that explains a lot.  I was wondering why were so big.”

I don’t want to complain too much about this episode, because it’s not bad at all, but most of this stuff with the old villains is kind of boring from a liveblogging perspective, since they’re not real and nothing they do actually matters.  This is mostly continuity porn, where we see Goku and Krillin do some old moves and we get some flashbacks to all three of Krillin’s death scenes, plus some of the other times he got worked over. 

Also Bulma shows up for... some reason?  I know Krillin sometimes acts like he’s more scared of Bulma than the bad guys, but I’m pretty sure he’s not being entirely serious when he says that.  If this forest is supposed to be a manifestation of his insecurities, then I don’t understand what this is. 

Anyway, the reason this is happening is because Master Roshi sent Goku and Krillin to this spooky magic island to get him some “herbs”, but it’s pretty clear this is some sort of tough love mission to help Krillin get his shit together.  Fortuneteller Baba provides her crystal ball so Roshi can monitor their progress remotely.  Wait, they put the crystal ball in front of Baba’s hat, so now it looks like its floating behind her instead of in front of her.  Oh well.

Also, 18 and Marron show up to find out what’s going on, and they watch the crystal ball too.  Marron doesn’t understand what’s happening, so 18 tells her that Krillin is fighting “himself”, which is true enough, I suppose.

So at first it looks like fighting the phantoms is all they have to do.  Goku has to talk Krillin into it, but once they attack together, they all seem to vanish.  Nice of them to put Bulma and Vegeta in the same shot like this.

But Krillin gets frustated with how much Goku’s enjoying this.  He flips out and tells Goku that he’s not having fun, because he got hurt and sometimes killed against all of these guys.  So reliving it all is not fun for him at all. 

They also can’t just leave, because the island sprays purple smoke from some flowers, and the brambles around them extend up into the air.  Also the phantoms come back.

They also get a lot bigger this time.  Krillin and Goku get separated, and Goku turns Super Saiyan 3 to fight off the bad guys, but then they get even bigger still, and that’s when Goku finally figures it out.  He powers down completely, and meditates, and the phantoms vanish.

But that’s not so easy for Krillin to work out, since he’s got all this trauma associated with these creeps. 

Goku can’t fly around to search for Krillin, so he summons Kinto’un to ride on.  Sean Schemmel even sings a few bars of “Cha La HEAD Cha La.”  Wild.

Eventually, Krillin works out the solution for himself.  He tried fighting and not fighting, but the key for him is to control his fear and calm his mind.  Then he has to fight them.  I’m not sure I get all of this, but okay.

By the time he finds Goku, he’s been attacked by another phantom, this time one of Super Shenron from Episode 42.   It’s nowhere near as big as the real thing, but apparently Goku can’t just will it away like he did the others.  Also he can fight his way out, since it might hurt Kinto’un in the process.  Wait, how is Kinto’un trapped?  I mean, it’s a cloud, can’t it just slip out of this mess?

So Krillin busts Goku loose, and they shoot it with Kamehamehas together, and the last phantom explodes...

... which somehow produces the herb Roshi sent them to find.  Well, all right.

On the way back, Krillin declares that he has to come out of retirement.  He explains it to Goku, but he doesn’t follow his speech, so let me do my interpretation. 

Krillin only got into martial arts to impress women.  If you’ve ever seen his wife, you know he won that game a long time ago.  He doesn’t enjoy fighting like Saiyans, nor is he interested in becoming stronger for its own sake, like Goku, or even Tien, who’s been in this life longer than most of them. 

And it’s not even about proving himself to his wife and daughter, or sharpening his skills for his job as a police officer.  That’s what he told everyone in the previous episode, but now he sees the truth.  He needs the discipline and clarity that martial arts brings him.  So he can’t just switch it off when there’s no enemy to fight or duty to be fulfilled.  He needs this for himself.

So they get back and 18 and Marron are all happy to see him, and Roshi got all his magic weed or whatever.  Everything worked out.

And 18 shaves Krillin’s head again, officially unretiring him.  Well, he has hair again in the final episodes of DBZ. I think he’s still bald in DBS: Super Hero, but he has that police helmet on the whole time, so it’s hard to be sure. 

Anyway, it’s good to have him back.  Would have been cool to get Krillin back in the blue shirt like he had in the Cell Saga, but I can appreciate 18 enjoying the titties out look for Krillin. 

This two-parter was okay, but I feel like they had loftier ambitions for exploring Krillin’s character, and didn’t quite achieve them.  The main issue here is that Toriyama keeps retiring and unretiring characters as he needs them for his stories, and that necessitates the characters themselves acknowledging why they keep reversing their own decisions.  It’s fine for Toriyama to change his mind about these things, but from Krillin’s perspective, he’s a real person who chooses these things of his own free will, which means it all has to make sense to him.  And this episode tries to satisfy that idea, but that’s a tough nut to crack. 

I mean, I don’t think Krillin really came to any conclusions about himself that he didn’t understand before.  He’s struggled with self-confidence his whole life, and fighting phantoms of his old enemies doesn’t seem that much scarier than when Frieza actually came back in Resurrection F.

To be fair, sometimes life works that way, and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to appreciate that sometimes you have to learn the same lessons multiple times.  It’s like how Goku played dumb about meditation in Super Hero.  Fans complained that Goku knows what meditation is because we’ve seen him do it before, but that’s not the point.  His masters have tried to teach him, and they may have gotten through to him about it, but he’s never fully appreciated the concept, which is why he keeps re-learning the same truths each time it comes up.   In the same vein, Krillin has been courageous all along, but he’s never fully understood what it means.  But that distinction seems pretty thin, and I’m not sure you can get a satisfying story out of it.